Home » Entertainment » “Rigas rhythms” as a springboard for growth, “Knife?” and “Stream” – for catching new sensations

“Rigas rhythms” as a springboard for growth, “Knife?” and “Stream” – for catching new sensations


Five legends on one stage in Riga

It is difficult to overestimate the importance of the “Rīgas ritmi” festival on the Latvian music map, but it often seems that it is not appreciated at all or is appreciated inappropriately. For example, this week at the festival such a mega-project as the supergroup of jazz greats “Modern Standards Supergroup”, as well as a number of other high-caliber artists. “It will hardly be possible to see Billy Cobham, Randy Brecker, Bill Evans, Linley Marthe and Nils Lan Doky together in one concert,” the festival’s artistic director Māris Briežkalns confirmed. “We are happy that this year we will have five jazz legends on one stage at the festival. Their program includes the new jazz standards that will probably be played as teaching material in schools many years from now.”

A festival to present new and crazy ideas

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Māris Briežkalns, artistic director of the “Rīgas ritmi” festival: “I think that currently Riga is very firmly integrated into the international jazz music scene.” / Kathy Kate Krastiņa/F64

The program of the 22nd international improvisation, jazz and global music festival “Rīgas ritmi” is coming to an end (it’s rather strange that its organizers had set the main highlights for Thursday and Friday…), but fans of good music can still go for a walk on Saturday, July 2 to the “jam session” event taking place in the “Radisson Blu Latvija” premises. “Rigas rhythms” is also a good opportunity for musicians to show themselves and prove themselves both to domestic listeners and music lovers from the West. For example, after the performance of the already mentioned jazz supergrands “Modern Standards Supergroup” in Dom Gardens on Thursday, the audience did not rush home, because then our own “Very Cool People” took the stage with a more jazzy program and the talented singer Paula Saija on the trumpet.

“We have a long-standing cooperation with the festival “Rīgas ritmi”, Elvijs Graftsov, the leader of “Very Cool People”, recalls. “We performed at the festival right after the release of the first album in 2009 and we still haven’t broken the record for the number of discs we sold after one concert – 250 discs were sold then, which gave us the opportunity to record the next album. During the pandemic, Māris suggested that we make a joint program with Aija Andrejeva, which we presented at the festival, but now we are already playing the “Woodstock Renaissance” program all over the Baltics and will release it on an album in the fall. And this time too – at the suggestion of the festival, a new program together with Paula Saija (the album will be released in 2023 – author). It turns out that we present new and crazy ideas right at the “Rīgas ritmi” festival!”

The uniqueness of jazz – when it is impossible to make a mistake

It would probably be difficult to even count how many young musicians “Rīgas ritmi” (and another event cherished by Briežkalns “Riga Jazz Stage”) have served as a springboard for growth – this year it was used by “festival peer” Paula Saija and other young artists. Māris Briežkalns emphasizes that both the organized master classes and concerts of highly professional musicians help young people to grow: [“Riga Jazz Stage”] was a masterclass by Jamison Ross, after which many came up and expressed their excitement. Because – what is a master class? It is not a place where professional artists tell you how to hold the drumsticks or how to blow air into the instrument, the master class helps you gain an understanding of what you want to achieve with your music making! This is very important because school often tells young people that you can do something wrong, but when you get on stage, there is nothing wrong with what you do! It is these mistakes in jazz music and in music in general that give a new direction – when you do something that you had not planned. Of course, you need the basics of music education, so you have to go to school, but as soon as you get on stage, you have to put it aside. You have to get out of the routine.”

Māris Briežkalns emphasizes that improvisation is the main trump card of jazz – if the listener knew in advance what he would hear from the stage, then he could listen to it at home too… “When you go on stage, you want to give something to people – to pull them out of the gray everyday life, from everyday worries, to make them think about things that are no longer material, which are already on a completely different level. Jazz music is unique in that you can’t hide anything in it, you can’t lie, because it’s felt by anyone, from a professional musicologist to an ordinary listener.”

With international recognition

Evaluating the artistic program and organizational quality of “Riga Rhythms”, as well as its importance in the international arena, the European Festival Association has awarded the festival the prestigious “EFFE Label” quality mark for the third year. It guarantees the inclusion of the festival in the European festival network “FestivalFinder.eu”, which provides information to music lovers and mass media about events in 45 European countries. Also this year, a large delegation of foreign music journalists came to Riga, several of whom admitted that they wanted to hear the performance of Latvian musicians. The team of Māras Briežkalns already from 2006 invites Western journalists to visit and organizes a “showcase” to show the situation in Latvian music. “During the pandemic, a number of festivals did not take place, but “Rīgas ritmi” took place in 2019, 2020, and 2021, and besides, we had a really high-quality program to offer, and many people came to see us,” says Māris. “The artists also trust us, because they know that “Rīgas ritmos” will really not be an event held in a green meadow at the tables, but a concert where people will come to listen, and the musicians will not have to play while others are eating. I think that currently Riga has firmly entered the international jazz music scene. And that’s not a little.”

Who goes to Bauska near Igo, who goes to Līgatni near Anša

If someone with “Rīga rhythms” was “too short” this week and wants to continue the festival atmosphere over the weekend, there are a couple of recommended events.

“Give summer a kick!” – a new festival “Knif?” has been announced with this motto, which will take place on July 1 and 2 at the stage of the Bauskas Pilskalnas park and whose idea was created by the musician Igo with his “Igo Music Management”. In the program – “Livi”, “Dakota”, “Ducele”, “Klaidonis”, Aivars Hermanis and Aija Vītoliņa, Mārcis Auziņš, “Big Al & The Jokers”, “The Peterson Band”, Vyacheslavs Mitrohins & “Friends Orchestra”, Ilona Balode and Valērijs Cīrulis, Ilona Birģele and Armands Alksnis (in the “Guitar and Organ” concert), “Lavrix Blues Band” etc. Also “Happiness Complete”, “Innocent Marple”, “The Hobos & Ralph Eiland”, “Big Friday” and many others. Of course, also Igo himself, but the special surprise will be the former core members of the “etc” club, Juris Kristons, Egons Kronbergs, Mārtiņš Burkevics and Vilnis Krieviņš, who will perform the functions of “night musicians”. Something from country, something from blues, something from rock, something from everything else – that’s probably what “Knife” was intended for.

On the other hand, in Līgatne, in the creative quarter of “Zeit”, the “Straume” festival will take place over the course of two days, on July 1 and 2, whose stylistic orientation does not raise questions – the program includes hip-hop representatives of different generations. On the first day – March, SourJ & Yam, Ods and Gocha, roland če, Edavārdi and others, on the second day – Wiesulis, I mean love, “Rīmdari”, Finķis & “Pragaii”, ansis and someone else (maybe even Gustavo!). “I hope it is clear to you that you will not go to see rappers on a simple meadow, but you will go to a place with infrastructure, where a real festival will take place?!” ansis asks rhetorically in the advertisement of the event. What’s the difference, ansi who won’t be clear, they will find out on the spot…

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