Nad alustasid koolipoistena aastal 1981. Järgnes 40 aastat vaikust. Nüüd on nad tagasi!
Reval Revival oli aastatel 1981–1982 Tallinna Muusikakeskkooli dixieland ansambel, mille tuumiku moodustasid ühes ja samas klassis õppinud noormehed, kelledest nii mõnegi jaoks muutis kokkupuude jazzmuusikaga kogu tulevase elu käiku. Ainult ühel õhtul kohtuvad virtuoosseks koosmänguks Eesti muusikaelu tuntud nimed, sõprus, mis on kestnud aastakümneid, ning ehtne New Orleansi dixieland – rõõmus, vahetu ja nakatavalt kaasakiskuv.
Klarnetivirtuoos Meelis Vind töötab tänapäeval põhikohaga Eesti Riiklikus Sümfooniaorkestris.
Eesti üks parimaid kontrabassimängijaid Taavo Remmel õppis kooli ajal hoopis viiulit. Tänasel päeval võtavad suure osa tema ajast pedagoogitöö Riias ning ringreisid Hortus Musicusega.
Trompetist Jüri Leiteni nimi figureerib meie riigi muusikaelus Eesti Kontserdi, Tallinna Filharmoonia ja Peterburi Jaani kiriku direktorina, samal ajal on laialt teada tema juhtroll Estonian Dream Big Bandis.
Ansamblitest Meie Mees, Proov583 ja Lament tuntud multiinstrumentalist Tarvi Jaago õppis Muusikakeskkoolis flööti. Tänu dixielandile sai temast trummar ja hiljem klahvpillimängija mitmes kollektiivis.
Ooperilaulja Mart Mikk küll Muusikakeskkoolis ei käinud, aga kuna teati tema bandžomängu oskusest otsustati tema ka kampa kutsuda.
Algses koosseisus mängis trombooni Mart Sork, kes lahkus meie hulgast kahjuks 2010. aastal. Koosseisus mängib trombooni nüüd Muusikakeskkooli väärikas vilistlane Ants Nuut.
Reval Revivali tõus kohalikku jazziellu oli ülikiire, kohemaid sai kooslusest oodatud esineja kõikvõimalikel lavadel ja festivalidel kuni Peterburini välja. Sama kiiresti toimus ansambli kadumine, põhiliseks süüdlaseks tuleb lugeda kohustuslikku ajateenistust okupatsiooniarmees. Järgnes 40 aastat vaikust kuni 2022. aasta kevadeni, mil seoses Tallinna Muusikakeskkooli kolimisega MUBAsse kutsuti lõpupeole esinema kooli vilistlaste ridadest tekkinud bände. Omamoodi šokeeriv oli avastada, et pärast nii pikka pausi uuesti koos musitseerima hakates naases juba esimeste taktide kõlades ruumi aastatetagune energia ning üksteise tunnetus, ilma milleta seda tänaseks juba unustusse langema hakkavat ainulaadset muusikastiili mängida poleks võimalik.
Laulusolistidena on koos Reval Revivaliga üles astunud Evelin Võigemast, Airi Allvee ja Saara Pius, algusaastatel Pille Lill.
Eestis harva kõlav dixieland on rõõmus ja kaasakutsuv muusika, mis paneb automaatselt naeratuse näole!
Koosseis:
Meelis Vind - klarnet
Jüri Leiten - trompet
Ants Nuut - tromboon
Mart Mikk - bandžo
Taavo Remmel - kontrabass
Tarvi Jaago - trummid
They started as schoolboys in 1981. Then came forty years of silence. Now they’re back!
Reval Revival was a dixieland ensemble formed at the Tallinn Music High School in 1981–1982. At its core were a group of young musicians who not only attended the same school, but in fact studied in the very same class. For several of them, their first encounter with jazz would profoundly alter the course of their lives. Featuring some of Estonia’s most accomplished musicians, reunited after many decades to celebrate a remarkable story of their friendship and a joy of New Orleans jazz – their music is guaranteed to get your feet tapping.
The clarinet virtuoso Meelis Vind is today a principal member of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra.
One of Estonia’s finest double bassists Taavo Remmel was actually a violin student during his school years; these days, much of his time is devoted to teaching in Riga and touring with the renowned early music ensemble Hortus Musicus.
Trumpeter Jüri Leiten has become one of the most influential figures in Estonia’s musical life, having served as Director of Eesti Kontsert, the Tallinn Philharmonic Society, and St. John’s Church in St. Petersburg, while also being widely known as the driving force behind the Estonian Dream Big Band.
The multi-instrumentalist Tarvi Jaago is familiar to Estonian audiences from the bands Meie Mees and Lament. He studied flute at the Music High School, but it was dixieland that first led him to the drums and later to keyboards in a variety of ensembles.
The opera singer Mart Mikk was studying at another school, but his reputation as a banjo player earned him an invitation to join the group.
The original trombonist was Mart Sork, who sadly passed away in 2010. To fill the long-vacant trombone chair, the band enlisted distinguished alumnus Ants Nuut.
Reval Revival’s rise within Estonia’s jazz scene was remarkably swift. Almost overnight, the band became a sought-after attraction at concerts and festivals throughout the country and as far afield as St. Petersburg. Its disappearance was equally sudden, largely due to the compulsory military service imposed by the Soviet occupation army. What followed was forty years of silence.
The story resumed in the spring of 2022, when the Tallinn Music High School was about to be joined with the Tallinn School of Music and Ballet. For the farewell celebration, the school invited former student ensembles to perform. What came as a genuine surprise was how quickly the old chemistry returned. Within the first few bars, the room was once again filled with the energy, intuition, and unspoken musical understanding that had defined the band four decades earlier. Without that shared instinct, it would be impossible to perform this distinctive style of music, which today is becoming increasingly rare.
Over the years, Reval Revival has collaborated with several outstanding vocalists. Recent appearances have featured Evelin Võigemast, Airi Allvee, and Saara Pius, while in the band’s original years the featured singer was Pille Lill.
Rarely heard in Estonia today, dixieland is joyous, infectious music that has an irresistible ability to put smiles on faces.
Line-up:
Meelis Vind - clarinet
Jüri Leiten - trumpet
Ants Nuut - trombone
Mart Mikk - banjo
Taavo Remmel - double bass
Tarvi Jaago - drums
