Aleksander Paal

Alto Sax icon Alto Sax

37 age

February 21, 1989 Birthday

Social

About

Aleksander Paal is an Estonian jazz saxophonist, composer, and educator based in Tallinn. He plays alto saxophone across a wide range of jazz styles, from traditional and bebop to funk and free jazz. Paal leads a quartet and two trios, and serves as lead alto saxophonist in both the Estonian Dream Big Band and the New Wind Jazz Orchestra. He is an active sideman who has collaborated with S.P.A.R. Quartet, Trading Fives, Holger Marjamaa, Joel Remmel, and Heikko Remmel. In 2012, he won the Northern European Jazz Talent Competition in Groningen, the Netherlands, and was recognized with the Young Jazz Talent prize by Jazzkaar and the Estonian Jazz Union. He contributed to the Joel Remmel Trio's album Kevad, which won Jazz Album of the Year in 2022. Since 2018, he has served as Lecturer in Jazz Music at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre.

Trivia

Paal describes his approach to composition in mathematical terms, saying he "always sees music in numbers, permutations, sequences, and patterns." At the 2023 Jazzkaar festival, he led a tribute to the late Estonian composer Valter Ojakaar, transforming pop and Latin compositions into post-bebop jazz arrangements alongside veteran saxophonist Raivo Tafenau. Among his students at the Estonian Academy is saxophonist Nikita Korzoun, continuing the tradition of Estonian jazz education.

Early Life

Aleksander Paal was born on February 21, 1989, in Estonia. His parents enrolled him in music school to study classical piano at age six, but he found the structured approach stifling. His relationship with music transformed at age twelve when he discovered the saxophone, which sparked an immediate passion for jazz and improvisation. Despite being accepted to study economics at the University of Tartu, one of Estonia's most prestigious universities, he turned down the offer to devote himself to music full-time. He pursued formal jazz training at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, studying alongside musicians who would become key figures in the contemporary Estonian jazz scene. His early career was marked by rapid integration into Tallinn's professional jazz community, performing at venues and festivals while still developing his distinctive voice on alto saxophone.