VERONIKA CHICHI QUARTET
VERONIKA CHICHI QUARTET
(Lithuania – Estonia)
Veronika Čičinskaitė-Golovanova – voc
Dmitrij Golovanov – keyb
Heikko Remmel – db
Augustas Baronas – dr
The Quartet has been active in this line-up for two years. Having tested a number of musicians the leader now feels happy to have handpicked a perfect group from selected virtuosos of her generation.
It is not surprising that she came up with an idea to record an album right away. At the Birštonas Jazz festival Veronika ChiChi Quartet introduces Veronika Čičinskaitė-Golovanova’s personal album – Singer of a 1000 faces in which the soloist reveals her many faces as a jazz vocalist, also introduces herself as a mature composer and solid leader.
Lightness and dash, courage and playfulness permeate the album’s music be it Veronika’s personal compositions or masterful reiterations of jazz standards. The singer’s voice touches “strings” of both body and soul.
Interesting detail – the majority of compositions were recorded from the first take.
Veronika Čičinskaitė-Golovanova is an ambitious and charming vocalist with a large community of fans, known to many as a member of The Ditties, a stylish retro group. She is a laureate of Džiazo fontanas (“Jazz Fountain”) competition for young jazz performers and Jazz Voices international competition for vocalists.
The singer studied at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (LAMT), honed her skills at the Franz Liszt College of Music in Weimar (Germany). She collaborates with many renowned jazz masters such as Dmitrij Golovanov, Artūras Anusauskas, Vytis Nivinskas and Darius Rudis, has appeared in a contemporary opera premiere at the New Opera Action festival.
Her discography includes albums recorded with her husband Dmitrij and The Ditties. Currently, she is mainly performing with her Quartet.
Dmitrij Golovanov, one of the most interesting and dynamic Lithuanian jazz pianists. In 2007, he garnered Vilnius Jazz Young Power Grand Prix, the following year won the International Jazz Improvisation Competition in Vilnius, and in 2013 reached the finals of the European Jazz Competition in Rotterdam.
Dmitrij is well schooled in jazz traditions and enjoys stepping beyond – he revels in free jazz, experiments with electro-acoustic music.
Golovanov got jazz basics at the LAMT, later furthered his education in Mendelssohn-Bartholdy University of Music and Theatre in Leipzig. The pianist’s skills, his expressive and melodious phrasing appeal to Lithuanian and foreign jazz masters who invite Dmitrij to take part in various projects.
He has collaborated with Brothers Briliai (Russia), Annie Kierulff and Anders Andersson (Denmark); is a member of Liudas Mockūnas’ NuClear, partakes in international formations Beat Freisen Spelunkenorkester (Germany-Lithuania-Taiwan) and Swilit (Switzerland-Lithuania).
In 2012, together with saxophonist Kęstutis Vaiginis he formed Tree Stones jazz quartet uniting Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian musicians. Dmitrij intensively tours with and composes for the Quartet. The Vaiginis and Golovanov tandem also meets in various other projects, plays as a duo.
In addition, Dmitrij is a member of Infiltrators jazz trio, enjoys creative experiments in a unique duo with percussionist Arkady Gotesman. Sometimes the duo’s exotic jazz is complemented with poet Rolandas Rastauskas reading of his own poems.
With various groups Golovanov appeared in European jazz festivals including London Jazz (Great Britain), Pori Jazz (Finland), Brugge Jazz (Belgium), MOL Jazz (Hungary), Leipzig Jazz and Jazz in Semper Opera (Germany), Jazz Jamboree (Poland) and Schleswig-Holstein festival (Germany), performed in Germany, Greece, Spain, Georgia, the Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia and Estonia.
Heikko Remmel is considered to be one of the best jazz musicians of the new generation in Estonia. He is a winner of Nomme Jazz competition and a recipient of the Estonian Jazz Union and the Jazzkaar’s Young Jazz Talent Award.
The musician carries on with the family traditions: his father Taavo Remmel is an acclaimed jazz double bassist, and his brother Joel – jazz pianist.
Even though Heikko still studies at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki (Finland), has already played together with many acknowledged jazz artists including Lembit Saarsalu, Villu Veski, Kristjan Randalu, Jaak Sooäär, Raivo Tafenau, Tõnis Mägi, Sofia Rubina, Michele Weir and Taavi Kerikmäe, collaborated with the celebrated Hortus Musicus, Estonian Dream Big Band and Marjamaa Brothers.
In Veronika Čičinskaitė-Golovanova’s Quartet he has become an indispensable partner enriching the ensemble with idiosyncratic flavour and élan.
Augustas Baronas is also an exceptional musician, a laureate of the International Jazz Competition in Rostov (Russia), conquering audiences with his erudition, exquisite musical taste and talent.
He started his career in Eugenijus Vedeckas’ big band The Magic Time Orchestra with which he appeared in festivals in Lithuania, Latvia, Germany and Sweden.
After earning a bachelor degree from the Royal Conservatory of the Hague and a master degree from the Dutch Academy of Music in Amsterdam, the musician and his family returned from the Netherlands, settled in Lithuania where he got involved into local jazz life – he collaborates with various groups, regularly appears in “Jazz Cellar” jazz club in Vilnius.
