Weekend Guitar Trio was formed in 1993 after Robert Jürjendal’s participation at a Guitar Craft Course in Germany. It consists of Robert Jürjendal, Tõnis Leemets and Mart Soo, with backgrounds in classical guitar/Guitar Craft method, electronic music, and jazz/free improvisation, respectively. They have performed at countless jazz festivals all over Europe, had compositions written specially for them by Estonian and German composers, and presented their own compositions at contemporary music festivals.

WGT has released 7 albums under their own name and is featured on many more. The Estonian Radio and the Estonian National TV have produced programs about them and their music has also been aired on BBC 3 and numerous other European radio stations.

The trio has collaborated with top Estonian and British DJ-s, players of traditional instruments (kannel and bagpipe), choirs (from the Gregorian chant ensemble Vox Clamantis to the Estonian National Male Choir), and many improvising musicians like Jan Bang (live sampling), Brian Melvin (percussion), Markus Reuter (touch guitar), David Rothenberg (clarinet) and Toyah Willcox (vocals). After their concert at the 2011 Punkt festival in Tallinn, their music was instantly “remixed” by Erik Honoré, Eivind Aarset and Arve Henriksen.

Incorporating an arsenal of effects, a variety of extended techniques and a few choice pieces of peripheral hardware, WGT creates striking soundscapes. The players read off of each other with natural ease and know how to coax unique moods from their instruments. They cross the borders of jazz, rock, traditional and electronic music, throwing in enough stylistic changes to insure Zero Listener Ennui. At their concert you might feel as if in curved space, where the laws of 3-dimensional physics are not valid. The program is different each time, depending on the venue, the atmosphere, the sound … and the audience.

Having played together for more than 27 years, they have plenty of tracks to choose from. But they always throw in at least some freely improvised – or “spontaneously composed” – music as well, sometimes using live electronics in a pre-arranged way, sometimes in the “let’s-push-this-button-and-see-what-happens” style.


Improtest is a concert series that brings improvisational music from local and foreign authors to local audiences. The concerts have been taking place since 2005 once a month.