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KĘSTUTIS VAIGINIS QUARTET

KĘSTUTIS VAIGINIS QUARTET

(Lithuania – Finland – Latvia)

 

 

Kęstutis Vaiginis saxes, author

Joonas Haavistop

Juuso Rinta db

Kaspars Kurdekodr

 

One of the most talented saxophonists, Kęstutis Vaiginis, is a regular participant of the Birštonas Jazz festival. He performs in Lithuania every year with invited guests from the USA and renowned European jazz musicians, proving with his projects that there are no barriers in jazz. For this year’s Birštonas Jazz he brought together like-minded people from Finland and Latvia.

It is one of many Kęstutis’ international quartets performing his music, in which he seamlessly blends elements of modern jazz and academic music, lyricism and emotionality. The Quartet’s appearance at the festival will feature several of the leader’s new compositions.

Having mastered various wind instruments, Kęstutis Vaiginis, one of the most productive jazz masters in Lithuania, is an initiator and leader of a number of international projects. He quickly established himself on the Lithuanian jazz scene, appearing with experienced Lithuanian and foreign jazz masters of both his and older generation.

 

With various formations he performed his compositions in Lithuania, Holland, Spain, France, the USA, Germany, Poland, Turkey, Brazil, Azerbaijan, Sakartvelo and other countries.

 

He revealed his compositional talent while still a student at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, the Prince Claus Conservatoire and Amsterdam School of the Arts (the Netherlands), as well as Manhattan School of Music in New York.

 

During his study years, Vaiginis also started composing for big bands. Later, he formed Independent Artists Ensemble, an independent Lithuanian youth big band; performed his own compositions with the German State Youth Jazz Orchestra. His works were included in several collections of Lithuanian music.

 

In 2013, the saxophonist received the European Culture Foundation’s Europamusicale Music Prize, which annually is given to one European musician. Earlier he earned awards in many national and international competitions and garnered the Grand Prix in Birštonas Jazz 2010.

 

The list of his former and current stage partners includes Alex Sipiagin, David Berkman, David Kikoski, Jelle Van Gie, Barbara Dennerlein, Hernan Romero, Ed Howard, Adam Cruz, Randal Corsen, Bilal Karaman, Burak Bedikyan, Ferit Odman, Joonas Haavisto, Deniss Pashkevich, Dmitrij Golovanov as well as Indonesian, Korean and Italian musicians. Vaiginis is a member of Lithuanian-Latvian-Estonian Tree Stones quartet as well as Dainius Pulauskas Group.

 

As a leader of various collectives and as a guest artist he appeared in prestigious jazz festivals including Nord Sea Jazz, Rotterdam, London, Ottawa, Cape Town, Istanbul, Hong Kong and Tokyo to name but a few, toured in Europe, Asia, North and South America and Africa.

 

Vaiginis’ discography amounts to more than ten albums, including five personal. “His vision is wide-ranging from the subtle to the provocative, rooted in an appreciation of tradition and yet looking forward”, said Steve Wilson, an illustrious American saxophonist, about Vaiginis’ Unexpected Choices, his personal CD recorded with acclaimed New Yorkers. 

 

Vaiginis’ new album Musical Conversations was recently released, also recorded in New York with prominent American musicians. Renowned jazz critic and record producer Adam Baruch described it as perfect one, noting the aesthetic value of the compositions and their impeccable performance. “Most of the soloing is naturally performed by the project’s mastermind and leader, who plays soprano, alto and tenor saxophones and bass clarinet, all with the same level of excellence,” the reviewer admitted.

 

Finnish pianist Joonas Haavisto has appeared in Birštonas Jazz festival with K. Vaiginis Quartet in 2018. Haavisto is one of the most impressive representatives of Nordic jazz scene.

Joonas started playing piano only at the age 16, before that he studied double bass. He completed jazz studies in the USA where he also collaborated with local jazz masters. Before soon he earned recognition at home and abroad.

He is a winner of Jazz Improvisation jazz piano competition (2006) organised by the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, Young Nordic Jazz Comets (2007) and Jazz Hoeilaart (2010) competitions. As a soloist he has appeared with Finland’s leading chamber orchestras and big bands, as a leader of his jazz groups he toured in Europe, the USA, Canada and Japan.

The pianist is particularly productive with his Trio, which has performed at major festivals in England, France and Germany, the legendary Tokyo Jazz Festival and important Japanese concert venues. The Trio has released five albums, which have received excellent reviews in both Finnish and international media.

Haavisto is a prolific composer writing music not only for his chamber formations, but also for big bands, chamber orchestras, piano, pop artists and movies. He composed and recorded the soundtrack for The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki, which was awarded prize in the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for an Oscar in the foreign language category.

List of his stage partners includes such renowned jazz musicians as Jerry Bergonzi, Jonathan Kreisberg, Ron Mclure, Bill Watrous, Michael Formanek, Sinne Eeg, Peter Weniger, Bertil Strandberg, John Fedchock, Tivon Pennicott, Teemu Viinikainen, Jukka Perko, Verneri Pohjola and Jukkis Uotila.

Juuso Rinta is an active and versatile performer in the Helsinki jazz scene, a flexible double bass player and composer. He draws inspiration from the colourful palette of jazz.

In 2018, enabled by a scholarship from the Erik Lindström Foundation, the musician honed his skills in New York, and in 2019, the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki provided him with the opportunity to study all year at the Manhattan School of Music in New York. The double bass player had the chance to step on the stages of New York, New Jersey, Los Angeles.

He has collaborated with many Finnish jazz masters, including Ilmari Rönkä Ulappa and Linear John; is a member of Hector Lepe Quartet, Kadi Vija Trio, Jonas Metsäkylä Trio as well as group Anabasís, performing his and Haavisto’s compositions.

Latvian drummer Kaspars Kurdeko received his classical education from the Latvian Academy of Music in Riga. He studied jazz at the School of the Arts in Amsterdam and the Manhattan School of Music in New York.

 

During his studies, Kaspars’ quartet Deko Motion won the “Keep an Eye Jazz Award” in Amsterdam, and Kaspars was recognized as the best jazz musician. At the time, an avid experimenter and the original improviser drew the attention of Terry Lyne Carrington, a prominent drummer and professor at Berklee College of Music (USA). She foresaw a promising future for Kaspars. And she was not mistaken.

 

The drummer shared the stage with Didier Lockwood, Seamus Blake, Jesse Van Ruller, Benjamin Herman, Francesco Bearzatti, Spyros Manesis Trio, Dominic J. Marshall Trio and other jazz artists, and performed with the Kremerata Baltica chamber orchestra. In Lithuania we have heard him improvising with Lithuanians Kęstutis Vaiginis and Dmitrij Golovanov, the members of the Baltic musicians’ jazz quartet Tree Stones.

 

Kaspars has written music for films, the contemporary dance production Divotne, the ballet Never Tales. The latter received its premiere at the Latvian National Opera and Ballet Theatre in 2019. He recently released a vinyl album for his experimental trio KlusiKlusi (Jersika Records).

 

The drummer has appeared with various formations in the USA, South Korea, Sweden, Portugal and other countries. He currently teaches the percussion at the Jazz Department of Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music and Ventspils Music School.

 

 

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bank code 71816

acc. nr. LT 43 7181 6000 0014 4640

comp. code 190025748

AB ,,Šiaulių bankas'' Birštono KAS

bank code 71816

acc. nr. LT 43 7181 6000 0014 4640

comp. code 190025748

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tel. + 370 319 65546

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