ETHNIC PROCESS PROJECT BY STUDENTS OF VILNIUS COLLEGE AND JĀZEPS VĪTOLS LATVIAN ACADEMY OF MUSIC

 (Artistic Director Vladimir Chekasin)

For many years in a row Maestro Vladimir Chekasin has kept astonishing Birštonas’ audience with his unrestrained imagination showcased in resourceful multimedia projects where he teams up not only with his disciples, but also students of other professional fields as well as guests. In this setting he always represents all-in-one: teacher, conductor, director and stage partner. In the past, Birštonas Jazz stage has hosted collaboration of students from Vilnius College and Stevenson College, Edinburgh.

This year’s project Ethnic Process gathered musicians exclusively, but the performing forces are as impressive as ever. This time Vilnius College students will be joined by Latvian colleagues – Indriķis Veitners, saxophonist, clarinettist and the head of the Department of Jazz Music at Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music, and students of this Department.

In preparation of the project, ethnomusicology students from Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music assisted the performers. For this time Chekasin’s team turned to Latvian folksongs for inspiration. This idea was generated by Vita Sasnauskienė, jazz vocalist and the head of the Department of Rhythmic Music at the Vilnius College.

According to Chekasin, he did not care much about employing the authentic Latvian folk music, but rather wanted to analyse the idea of a modern city.

Latvian members of the project are vocalists Beāte Zviedre, Dita Belicka, Rūta Dūduma, saxophonist Roberts Martinovskis, guitarist Svens Vilsons,  bassist Toms Lipskis and drummer Pauls Ķierpe from the Department of Jazz Music of the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music.

The Department of Rhythmic Music of the Vilnius College is represented by vocalists Diana Anisko, Elžbieta Oleškevič, Kotryna Zaskevičiūtė,  Santa Šillere  saxophonists Mykolas Savčenka, Klaudijus Štuopinis, Vilhelmas Rudys, trombonist Tomas Ciūnys, guitarist Žygimantas Kepenis, pianist Anastasija Šanina, bassist Ernestas Germanovičius and drummer Dominykas Besakirskas.

Saxophonist, composer, stage director and pedagogue Vladimir Chekasin has taught jazz improvisation and ensemble at the Vilnius College since 2003. For many years he was on a faculty of Balys Dvarionas Music School, where he has led jazz ensembles.

Maestro has devised an original method for jazz instruction allowing educating creative and unorthodox personalities. In his ensembles performing is inseparable from composing and spontaneous improvising.

One could hardly find a jazz musician in Lithuania who has not been influenced by the Maestro. The list of his disciples includes Petras Vyšniauskas, Vytautas Labutis, Gediminas Laurinavičius, Leonid Shinkarenko, Neda Malūnavičiūtė, Liudas Mockūnas and Andrė Pabarčiūtė among other renowned Lithuanian jazz figures.

In 1975-1989, he taught saxophone at the Lithuanian State Conservatoire (currently the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre), for five years led the Conservatoire’s legendary Big Band. In Soviet times this collective was an oasis of freedom, which to many of its members served as the foremost professional Alma Mater.

Born in Sverdlovsk, Chekasin settled in Lithuania in 1971. Together with Viacheslav Ganelin and Vladimir Tarasov he formed the legendary Trio that was a cornerstone of the Lithuanian jazz school. The partnership, that lasted 17 years, has earned the Trio a reputation of the best non-American jazz groups of all times. In 2002, after a long interruption the Trio had reunited for several concerts.

Chekasin has also extensively performed with his Quartet, formed in 1981, appearing in almost all major jazz festivals in Europe. The saxophonist was regularly nominated the best jazz musician in the Soviet Union.

Chekasin’s discography amounts to over 60 albums, recorded with his own ensembles and various other performers. The musician has performed throughout Europe, the USA, Japan, India and Cuba.

Recently, the artist has focused on musical dialogues merging jazz and academic music, has given numerous concerts with pianist Petras Geniušas. This year Maestro has launched open jazz laboratories at the Russian Drama Theatre of Lithuania in Vilnius, where together with young people and well known colleagues of his he communicates with the audience in a jazz language.

For contributions to Lithuanian jazz Chekasin was decorated with Vilnius Jazz Festival Award, received the medal “For Contributions to Vilnius and the Nation”. Moreover, he is a laureate of Birštonas Jazz Festival Grand Prix, a recipient of St. Christopher Award, and Gold Disc from the Lithuanian Musicians’ Union.

Indriķis Veitners, saxophonist, clarinettist and an associate Professor at Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music, takes active part in Latvia’s jazz life. He collaborates with majority of Latvian jazz musicians including Roberts Raubiško, Maris Briežkalns, Uldis Marhilēvičs, Raimonds Macats and Deniss Paškēvičs, is a member of Patina ethno-jazz group, takes part in Mirāža Big Band as well as generates his own projects.