Articles by Ieva Pakalniškytė
Nicole Zuraitis Quartet in Vilnius: Precision Without Excess
by Ieva Pakalniškytė
Nicole Zuraitis Quartet LVSO Concert Hall Vilnius, Lithuania April 18, 2026 Vilnius has a unique way of welcoming artists who are connected to its culture. When Nicole Zuraitis, a two-time Grammy Award-winning singer, pianist, composer, and producer with Lithuanian roots, took the stage at the sold-out LVSO Concert Hall, that connection remained understated and functioned more as context than as a narrative. A symphonic setting, designed for classical music, does not always lend itself to ...
Continue ReadingRebekka Salomea: German's Jazz Award's 2026 Artist of the Year
by Ieva Pakalniškytė
Held annually on April in Bremen, Germany, jazzahead! marked its 20th edition this year and remains one of the most important gatherings in the global jazz industry--a trade fair, conference, and festival that brings together musicians, promoters, labels, journalists, and cultural professionals from around the world. It serves as a key platform for networking, showcasing new projects, and reflecting on current developments in jazz. One of the highlights of jazzahead! is the German Jazz Award Ceremony, where the prestigious German ...
Continue ReadingPierre-Antoine Savoyat: Thousand Shades of a Clown
by Ieva Pakalniškytė
On his 2026 album release, Thousand Shades of a Clown (Challenges Record, 2026), Brussels-based trumpeter and composer Pierre-Antoine Savoyat places the emphasis on proportion, timbre, and space, balancing a quiet surface with an underlying intensity. Leading his quartet Le Monde Merveilleux de Pepito, Savoyat shapes a sound that is understated yet deliberate, allowing the music to unfold without pushing toward obvious peaks. Rather than demanding attention, it draws the ear in gradually, revealing through detail and interaction. From the outset, ...
Continue ReadingViktorija Gečytė & Gene Perla: Mother
by Ieva Pakalniškytė
Sometimes the music does not so much ask to be heard as it quietly draws you in. Listening to Viktorija Gečytė and Gene Perla's album Mother feels like slipping into a warm, half-remembered moment. The atmosphere is unhurried, softly lit, unfolding somewhere between memory and the present. Structured as a six-composition album, it echoes the aesthetic world of the Great American Songbook. Carried by voice, swing, and the pleasure of listening, it remains firmly rooted in tradition without feeling merely retrospective or ...
Continue ReadingArkady Gotesman: Music For An Imaginary Ballet
by Ieva Pakalniškytė
Arkady Gotesman occupies a singular position in Lithuanian music scene, having performed across more than fifty international festivals and concerts as a percussionist, composer and interdisciplinary artist whose work spans jazz, contemporary classical repertoire, free improvisation, theatre, literature and film. Over four decades he has collaborated with an exceptional range of musicians--from Vyacheslav Ganelin, Petras Vysniauskas, Liudas Mockūnas, Anthony Coleman and Mats Gustafsson to Nate Wooley, Charles Gayle, Barry Guy and Dave Douglas, among many others--while also premiering works by Anatolijus Šenderovas, Osvaldas Balakauskas, ...
Continue ReadingKenneth Dahl Knudsen: Anti Robotic Dance Music
by Ieva Pakalniškytė
First performing at Vilnius' Tamsta Club in 2023, Anti Robotic Dance Music initially appeared as a burst of futuristic jazz, rock, drum-and-bass energy, shaped by the immediacy of a trio set with a large ensemble. Heard now as a recording, that same performance sharpens into a clearer articulation of bassist and composer Kenneth Dahl Knudsen's defined concept. Set, in the composer's words, “in a dystopian world where machines dominate and rhythm becomes rebellion," the album does not treat this as abstract ...
Continue ReadingVilnius Jazz Festival 2025
by Ieva Pakalniškytė
Vilnius Jazz Festival 2025 Old Theatre of Vilnius jny:Vilnius, Lithuania October 13-21, 2025 This report covers five days from October 15-19. The thirty-eighth edition of the Vilnius Jazz Festival opened with the assurance of an event that has spent decades refining both its aesthetic and its purpose. As one of Vilnius's most enduring festivals--shaped for almost four decades by producer Antanas Gustys--it continues to articulate a distinctive philosophy at a moment when many ...
Continue ReadingKenneth Dahl Knudsen: Beyond 'Sound American' – Crafting a Nordic Jazz Identity
by Ieva Pakalniškytė
What does finding an authentic musical voice in a genre so deeply connected to history and geography mean? The answer for Danish double bassist, composer, and educator Kenneth Dahl Knudsen is to transcend limitation and let identity shape the sound. A restless presence on the European jazz scene, Knudsen has resisted the pressure to “sound American" and instead draws from his Scandinavian roots, folk song, church music and rock energy, while taking influences from collaborators worldwide.
Continue ReadingDainius Pulauskas Acoustic Group at the Christopher Summer Festival
by Ieva Pakalniškytė
Dainius Pulauskas Acoustic Group Adomas Mickevičius LibraryChristopher Summer Festival jny:Vilnius, Lithuania August 5, 2025 Vilnius Christopher Summer Festival has long demonstrated an ability to present quality concerts that connect with cultural roots and artistic ambition. On this warm August evening, in the courtyard of the Adomas Mickevičius Library, the festival featured pianist and composer Dainius Pulauskas with his Acoustic Group. The evening included a program of original compositions and reimagined works by Polish jazz legend ...
Continue ReadingJazzmeia Horn: Timeless Voice, Modern Spirit
by Ieva Pakalniškytė
In the ever-evolving landscape of contemporary jazz vocalism, few artists navigate the intricate dialogue between tradition and innovation with the intelligence and visceral impact of Jazzmeia Horn. Her recent appearance at the Kaunas Jazz festival in Vilnius was more than a concert; it was a potent demonstration of an artist in full command of her voice and her message. For those encountering her for the first time, Horn's work consistently invites a deeper engagement with the jazz vernacular. A jny: ...
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