These concerts are a unique cooperation project of the US embassies of the three Baltic states. The public concert will be held at the Kennedy Center Millennium internship and will start on October 15 at 18:00 Washington time and at 1.00 on October 16 Latvian time. It will also be streamed on the site kennedy-center.org.
Baltic jazz trio the music is elegant, fresh and characteristic of the Baltic region. Each of the musicians is one of the driving forces behind the jazz scene in their country. Estonian bassist Toivo Unts, Latvian drummer Māris Briežkalns and Lithuanian pianist Daiņus Pulausks first performed together in 2008 at the Baltic Culture Week in Paris, France. The trio also performed at the Ottawa Jazz Festival in Canada, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival in Germany, the Vilnius Jazz Festival and the Birštona Jazz Festival in Lithuania, the festival Via Baltica In Liepāja, Latvia, at the Korzo Theater in The Hague, the Netherlands, at the theater Old style Tartu, Estonia, etc.
So far, the trio has released two albums – Baltic saga And central – with the music of the outstanding Baltic composers Arvo Pertas, Pēteras Vaskas, Raimonds Paulus and Mikalojs Čurlionis, which will also be performed during the concert.
Toivo Unts is one of the best double bass players in Estonia. He has played with internationally renowned jazz artists and participated in numerous jazz festivals. Unts plays in the symphony orchestra of the Estonian National Opera, is a member of the jury of numerous international competitions, a music pedagogue and a member of the annual festival Jazz Time Fest organizer in Sillam, Estonia. He has participated in more than 30 album recordings.
Māris Briežkalns has played percussion parts on more than 60 music albums and is the leader of the Māris Briežkalns Quintet. He has performed and masterclassed in many countries, including Great Britain, France and Germany. Briežkalns manages the Contemporary Music Center and is an international festival of improvisation, jazz and world music rhythms of Riga, as well as the international competition of jazz artists Riga Jazz Stage artistic director. He is the head of the sound recording department of Latvian radio and for many years he was also artistic director of the big band of Latvian radio, he also produced the international Euroradio Jazz Orchestra 2018 great band.
Dainius Pulausks is a keyboardist and composer. He is the leader of one of the leading Lithuanian jazz ensembles Dainius Pulauskas group, who has already released five albums. Pulauskas has participated in festivals all over the world, including in Asia (China, India, Indonesia) and the United States.
Baltic jazz trio it is vivid evidence of the strong roots of jazz music in the Baltic states, the high level of performance and the unusual fusion of American and Scandinavian schools with the nuances of the unique ethnic cultures of this region.
