Jaak Sooäär, born on April 25, 1972, in Tallinn, Estonia, is an Estonian jazz guitarist. He began his career in the Estonian jazz scene in 1989 and gained international recognition touring with the European Jazz Youth Orchestra in 1999 and performing with the EBU Big Band in 2003. In 2004, Sooäär became the head of the jazz department at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre. Sooäär has released several albums, including NO99 jazzklubis (2007), Tuljak (2009), and Goodbye July (2020). He has collaborated with notable musicians such as Ray Anderson, Joe Lovano, and Ron McClure. He has received several awards, including the Annual Award of the Estonian Cultural Endowment for the Sound Arts in 2007 and 2018 and the Republic of Estonia Cultural Award in 2021.
