ADOMAS REKAŠIUS & DORPHINE
(Lithuania – Switzerland)
Adomas Rekašius – p
Christophe Muheim – db
Flo Hufschmid – dr
Pianist, composer and arranger Adomas Rekašius returns to Birštonas Festival after a 26-year break. As a student, he performed here with the quartet of saxophonist Rimvydas Paulikas. Now, after a long search for his own creative style and having accumulated a wealth of professional and life experience, the musician presents his trio & Dorphine, formed last year in Switzerland, performing original compositions by the leader.
“Music is a reflection of our being and a mirror of the soul, shining with unbridled imagination, an inexhaustible longing for beauty and immeasurable freedom. It is mathematics and poetry, a link between the inner and outer worlds, influencing them both”, says Adomas Rekašius.
Improvisation for him is self-discovery, a process that never ends. Vilnius-born Rekašius’ musical journey into himself began at the National M. K. Čiurlionis School of Art, where he studied classical piano. He started playing jazz at the age of 15 and since then has participated in competitions and festivals in Lithuania, Germany and Denmark.
In 1998, Adomas was the winner of the Piano Jazz Improvisation international competition in Vilnius. At that time, he studied classical and jazz piano at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. The pianist also honed his improvisation skills at masterclasses of jazz masters such as John Taylor, Brian Blade and Vladimir Chekasin.
After studying in Lithuania, Rekašius furthered his studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Frankfurt am Main, and then spent several years in Germany teaching and performing in trio projects with German jazz masters Klaus Hessler, Vitold Reck, Thomas Heidepriem, Hans Höhn, Tobias Backhaus, and New York-based bassist Trifon Dimitrov. During this period, he visited India several times, where he studied Indian music and philosophy and collaborated with Indian music masters.
Since 2011, Rekašius has been living in Switzerland, teaching classical and jazz piano as well as composition at the Bern Conservatory. Inspired by his many years of teaching experience, he has produced two collections of piano works for students, Little Stories for Pop Piano and New Stories for Pop Piano, published by Heinrichshofen & Noetzel in 2013 and 2017.
In 2022, these publications were presented on the ZOOM platform by students from Lithuanian music and art schools, the Vilnius Juozas Tallat-Kelpša Conservatoire and the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. Rekašius’ piano masterclasses were attended by teachers and students from music schools across the country.
In addition to his intensive pedagogical work, Rekašius also performs as a soloist and often improvises spontaneously. In 2021, he resumed his work with the ensemble, forming the trio Adomas Rekašius TREE. Already in 2022, the trio released an album of their original compositions UnCool, which received favourable reviews for its sincerity and the musicians’ authentic openness. Adomas’ second trio, & Dorphine, is, in his own words, even more distinctive, moving away from jazz expression means.
“Improvisation is my second language. I’m always discovering something new through improvisation, and I dive right back into the search. I have discovered what is most valuable in myself,” the pianist said.
Bassist Christophe Muheim grew up in Lausanne, studied double bass and electric bass at the Lausanne High School of Music, and later studied pedagogy and jazz at the University of the Arts in Bern. He studied with Patrice Moret, Bänz Oester, Pierre-François Massy, Ronny Graupe, Jean-Pierre Schaller and Stefan Rademacher.
Christophe currently lives in Bern and is a freelance musician. He plays in various Swiss ensembles, including Trio Augmenté, Judy Birldand, Jessanna, Objet Trouvé and l’OrchestreQuiPasseParLà. The bassist is also a member of the art collective Floating Network. His activities are related to self-education, creative exchange and fostering community through art.
In 2019, Muheim toured with Django Bates’ Loose Tubes in Barcelona, Bern and Lille. The bassist’s musical element is contemporary acoustic jazz and free improvisation.
Drummer Flo Hufschmid grew up surrounded by mountains and forests in Interlaken. As a child, he was drawn to the piano, but later became interested in drums and other instruments, which were his tools in learning to play music of different genres.
In 2017, Flo graduated from the Hofwil Gymnasium’s Jazz Talent Development Programme, and later studied with such authorities as Dejan Terzic, Julian Sartorius, Django Bates, and Andreas Schaerer while pursuing his master’s degree. In 2019, the drummer has been awarded one of the seven Fridl Wald Scholarships for jazz musicians up to the age of 26.
