The scene was the unusual setting of Club Inégales, a basement bar underneath a Euston law firm’s offices, and the evening followed an equally unusual theme in that it was a chance to encounter the Estonian jazz scene at close quarters.

Several bands performed, including the beguiling guitar/kannel (Estonian zither) duo of singer-kannel player Tuule Kann and guitarist Jaak Sooäär; experimental improvising singer Kadri Voorand’s trio; and the charismatic folk-jazz sounds of the extravagantly bearded guitarist Oleg Pissarenko and his band, whose set included the title track of his 2012 album Who Are You? 

The event was organised by the Estonian Music Development Centre and supported by the Estonian embassy in London, the Estonian Ministry of Culture, Enterprise Estonia, and the European Regional Development Fund.

This April sees the 25th anniversary of leading Estonian festival Jazzkaar in Tallinn with a line-up including Pat Metheny, Cassandra Wilson, and Fatoumata Diawara.

The duo of Tuule Kann, above left, and Jaak Sooäär pictured at Club Inégales