“Kadri Voorand is a people person. … Whether playing piano, violin or thumb piano the audience were hanging on her every note and when asked to join in the audience sang as one.” – Jazzwise
“Voorand hits people’s body and soul” – London Jazz News
„It’s almost impossible not to be drawn in by Kadri Voorand’s energy. A long-time star in her homeland – now to be discovered everywhere” – 3sat Kulturzeit
“Kadri is singing in Estonian, but the power and energy in her voice moves the listeners heart even without words.” – Jazz.ru
“Voorand’s interpretations ranged from whispers, jests and romantic murmurs to smooth, intimate storytelling. Even untranslated language was clear.” – Allaboutjazz
Kadri Voorand, awarded the President’s Young Cultural Figure Award in 2019, is an Estonian vocalist, pianist and composer whose main concentration these days is on her duo with Mihkel Mälgand, Kadri Voorand Quartet and the vocal ensemble Estonian Voices. She creates music through strong emotional storytelling, combining catchy rhythms with a completely unique way of blending improvisational pop, jazz and folk elements. Though, her creative output keeps moving from one extreme to another. For example, she has recently soloed in front of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra with Ülo Krigul’s premiere falling into the genre of contemporary classical music, composed music for the animated film Orpheus by Priit Tender, and collaborated with various artists, such as Anthony Branker, NOËP, Rein Rannap, Erki Pärnoja, and others. Moreover, she has written a large-scale composition Giving Myself to the Sea for the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, which was also released as a book. As a composer and performer, she has also contributed to the Estonian Song and Dance Celebration. At its jubilee, her song “Ära mind lahti lase” earned an encore.
Voorand has produced seven albums, four of which have been recognized at the Estonian Music Awards. Her latest album has been released by the legendary label ACT.
Kadri Voorand Tunde kaja 2009
Kadri Voorand Trio Kosmoloogiline etüüd 2012
Estonian Voices Ole hea 2014 (Jazz Album of the Year 2015)
Kadri Voorand Quartet Armupurjus 2016 (Jazz Album of the Year 2017, Europe Jazz Media Top 10)
Estonian Voices Taat läks lolliks 2018 (Jazz Album of the Year 2018)
Tormis Quartet Tormisele/Hommage to Veljo Tormis 2018
Kadri Voorand In Duo with Mihkel Mälgand (ACT 2020, Jazz Album of the Year by Estonian Music Aards 2019, Musician of the Year 2020 by Estonian Public Broadcasting, Europe Jazz Media Charts, March 2020)
As a guest performer, Voorand has featured on many other albums, e.g. Tõnu Kõrvits’s Mirror, Anthony Branker’s Dance Music, and Tanel Ruben’s Kogutud rikkus and Nõiutud veerandtunnid.
In addition to the President’s Young Cultural Figure Award 2019 she was awarded as the Musician of the Year 2020 by Estonian Public Broadcasting. She has received four Awards for the Best Jazz Albums of the Year and in 2017 she was awarded as the Female Artist of the Year by Estonian Music Awards. Same year the Estonian Choral Association awarded her as the Choral Composer of the Year. In 2015 she received the Best Jazz Musician of the Year award and was recognized by the prominent Estonian Music Council as a radiant and powerful jazz musician in 2014. In 2008 she carried off the trophy for Young Jazz Talent.
Concert tours have taken Voorand to countries all over the world, including China, Hungary, Poland, Italy, Switzerland, Uzbekistan, Germany, Luxembourg, Finland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. She has also performed at prestigious festivals, such as Pori Jazz, Jazz Baltica, EFG London Jazz Festival, Cheltenham Jazz Festival, Tampere Jazz Happening and Bejing Nine Gates Jazz Festival.
Kadri has been singing, dancing and playing the violin since her early childhood. Thus she could improvise, create melodies and keep the rhythm at a young age in her mother’s folk band. At the age of five, she started to learn classical piano, and created her first pieces by the age of six. Voorand’s first significant steps towards jazz were her arrangements for the vocal ensemble Sheikid founded in her teens, which also won several prizes. Soon after she had started to study at an academic level, her talent caught attention, leading to collaboration with several Estonian and foreign top artists. Voorand has graduated from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre and is working there as one of its youngest lecturers. She has also improved her skills at the Royal Swedish Music Academy.
“What is distinctive about a Voorand performance is its dual commitment to the written word and to wordless improvisation. Voorand’s relationship to words is that of a skilled actress in dramaticrecitation, but she frequently abandoned words and turned her airy soprano voice into a wailing, scatting instrument.” JazzTimes New York
“She is experimental, fun and appears on stage with an incredible level of energy.” Jazznyt
“This stirring together of jazz, folk and pop, with thoughtful arrangements from these distinctive musicians, takes you, for a while, off into another world.” – London Jazz