LIETUVOS DŽIAZO GRANDŲ VAKARAS

At the "Kaunas Jazz" festival - an evening of Lithuanian jazz greats with Dainius Pulauskas and Leonidas Šinkarenka
The biggest Lithuanian jazz festival "Kaunas Jazz" that will take place in the spring announces another impressive gift for music lovers. This time - for those who love and are interested in the jazz scene of the native country, which will be represented in an exclusive concert by two famous Lithuanian musicians with their bands. On April 25, Saturday, an evening of Lithuanian jazz greats will be held on the stage of the National Kaunas Drama Theater, where two concerts will be played. Bass guitar virtuoso Leonidas Šinkarenka will take the stage with his band "Jazz 5 N", and the band of pianist Dainius Pulauskas will take over from him. The double performance of top-class masters will be part of the impressive "Kaunas Jazz" program of the weekend in the theater, where the US singers Lady Blackbird (April 24) and Judith Hill (April 26) will also perform. BILIETAI.LT distributes tickets to all "Kaunas Jazz" events. Jazz fans heard about Leonidas Shinkarenko for the first time in 1981, when the young musician joined the group of famous jazzman Vladimir Chekasin. Later, Leonidas played in the band of saxophonist Petros Vyšniauskas, in the collective "Dziazo nublokšti", he was repeatedly chosen as one of the best bassists of the Soviet Union at the time. After Lithuania regained its independence, this composer and musician performed with almost all of the country's best-known jazz performers, immersed himself in the activities of the "Vilnius Jazz Quartet" and "Lithuanian Jazz Trio" projects, and in 1997 made his debut as a group leader and released several successful albums. Leonidas Šinkarenko's ever-growing list of concerts includes more than 100 festival titles, and his discography includes more than six dozen albums featuring his instrument. In 2008, he was awarded the medal of the Order of the Grand Duke Gediminas of Lithuania for his services to Lithuanian culture. Leonidas Šinkarenka is famous for his ability to skillfully combine traditional and modern jazz, creating original compositions that reflect both Lithuanian and international musical heritage. His music is intense, dynamic and constantly evolving. It is often characterized by complex rhythmic structures, unexpected harmonic transitions and rich, polyphonic melodic lines. The performances of his band "Jazz 5 N" show the mastery of each member. Together with Leonidas Šinkarenka, four great musicians of different generations will appear on the stage of the Kaunas Jazz Festival - saxophonist Vytautas Labutis, who has played with him in more than one group, trumpeter Valerijus Ramoška, ​​Michail Novikovas from the bands "U'Elements" and "SynthEtika" known to music lovers, and Andrius Savchenko, keyboardist of the younger generation jazz band "Duck Saved Jones". Jazz 5 N performance at the Vilnius Book Fair Music Hall: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31XMvELaY-c

Lithuanian jazz virtuoso Dainius Pulauskas, as well as other musicians in his group playing on the stage of this year's festival, have been friends with "Kaunas Jazz" for decades. If you look through the old festival apps, you will find the names of some of them recorded back in the days when the festival took its first steps. As the group's leader himself admits, the role of "Kaunas Jazz" in the history of the group, which will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2026, is important - back in 1997, the festival released the group's first CD and gave it a stage many times. An interesting fact - the memorable festival slogans, well known to all festival goers, are from this album. Since 1981, when he made his debut in the famous "Octava" orchestra, pianist and composer Dainius Pulauskas has come a long and impressive way. The musician, who has been working on the jazz scene for more than a quarter of a century, has prepared several solo programs and performed at many international pianists' festivals. The musician and composer has received many awards, from the only Bravo statuette in history for the best Lithuanian jazz performer to the "LT identity" award of the Lithuanian Institute and the "Golden Disc" of the Lithuanian Musicians' Union. Dainius Pulauskas Group's work "Window to the past": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfK1Eg2KH7I
The group of Dainius Pulauskas is deservedly considered the ambassadors of Lithuanian jazz - they played in more than 40 countries of the world, from Canada to China and the Republic of South Africa. The number of festivals visited by the collective is approaching two hundred. The group has prepared several concert programs with groups of various genres - from a symphony orchestra to a folklore ensemble. He composes songs for large and chamber ensembles, song festivals (his choral song "Children of the Land" was played at the anniversary song festival of the 100th anniversary). He constantly participates in television projects, arranges music for them. The Estonian National Opera and Ballet Theater has staged the modern ballet "Jazz Ballet Club" based on the original compositions of Dainius Pulauskas. His work has been immortalized in 20 original albums. In 2021, Dainius Pulauskas' merits for Lithuanian culture will be evaluated with the Government's Culture and Art Prize. All the musicians playing in Dainius Pulauskas' band are excellent improvisers who belong to the Lithuanian jazz elite. They play music in various projects, often rush to several stages during one festival. This year is no exception - trumpeter Valerijus Ramoška will also perform with Leonidas Šinkarenka. We will also hear saxophonist and keyboardist Liutauras Janušaitis, trumpeter Tomas Botyrias, bassist Domas Aleksas, drummer Domantas Razmės and percussionist Arkadijus Gotesmanas as part of the Dainius Pulauskas group. Dainius Pulauskas Group's work "P23": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BU-IhqSaQ4I

More participants of the "Kaunas Jazz" festival will be announced in the near future. All festival news can be followed on the website www.kaunasjazz.lt

When buying 10 or more tickets, you can contact: vipklientai@bilietai.lt

Doors open: ~18:00
Event duration: ~2:30
Breaks: Yes
Language of the event: Lithuanian / English
Children are admitted for free: up to and including the age of 7 (provide proof of age at the venue)
Age Limit: None
Discounts: Not applicable

On the AllEvents portal you can always Buy tickets to an event Festivals LIETUVOS DŽIAZO GRANDŲ VAKARAS, Kaunas, Nacionalinis Kauno dramos teatras April 25

* The description translation is done automatically. There may be inaccuracies. Be sure to check the event description on the ticket store website when buying tickets.