Latvian jazz – a free-thinking teenager in a small but stable family.
Nothing ever comes from nothing – this is a universally acknowledged truth. And this is certainly also true of jazz in Latvia. This music genre arrived here more than a hundred years ago and has significantly evolved. And if, in this Baltic country of less than two million inhabitants, we look at jazz as a family spanning an entire century, then we could say that a new teenager is again beginning to assert itself.
Since 2009, the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music has offered the opportunity to study jazz at a professional level. Contemporary rhythmic music and jazz have also been taught in music secondary schools, of which there are currently seven, evenly distributed across the entire country. The Latvian Ministry of Culture has been supporting development of jazz for already a decade – not sufficiently enough, however providing symbolic acknowledgement that this genre is part of the “family”. There’s constant support from the State Culture Capital Foundation and municipalities, too.
Anyone who has ever started something will remember the importance of that first recognition – it serves as confirmation that one is on the right path. For Latvian jazz, such a moment came in 2023, when a performance by the jazz trio of guitarist and composer Matīss Čudars received the Latvian Grand Music Award for the year’s best concert, beating out a programme of classical chamber music and a performance of a Wagner opera. In 2025 the Grand Music Award added an entire new category to its list – for “outstanding performance in jazz”. Jazz artists and events are increasingly being recognised by other awards as well, such as the “Kilogram of Culture”, theatre and film music awards, “GAMMA” and “Zelta Mikrofons”.
It’s become impossible to count all the jazz concerts that take place in Latvia every year. Jazz is played in small cultural venues and large concert halls throughout the country. The “Rīgas Ritmi” festival is already more than 20 years old, the “Saulkrasti Jazz” festival is even older, and events such as “Škiuņa Džezs” and “Art of Riga Jazz” have also found their place in the rich Latvian cultural scene. The VEF Jazz Club concert series has established a stable audience and “Pink Noise Riga” festival will debut this summer.
M/Darbnīca cultural venue keeps the spirit of jazz alive in Riga every week, joined by various venues in the regions. There’s a big increase in new albums in relation to the size of Latvia – and although most artists are releasing their records independently, the contribution of Jersika Records label is undeniable. We have only one true jazz historian Indriķis Veitners, however journalists on the Latvian Radio talk and play jazz, there’s a digital magazine JAZZin.lv, and the genre is regularly present in the Mūzikas Saule magazine, Baltic Outlook onboard magazine and other media.
Latvia regained its independence only little more than 30 years ago, and it has taken us a while to become independent and democratic in our minds and feelings. And this is perhaps the best thing that defines Latvian jazz at the moment – the ability to exist and not be afraid. And it has been a long road filled with obstacles. But now we know this road leads only forward!
Anete Ašmane-Vilsone, Journalist with Latvijas Sabiedriskais medijs (Public Broadcasting of Latvia)
Guide compiled by EJN member Latvian Music Information Centr (LMIC)
Nothing ever comes from nothing – this is a universally acknowledged truth. And this is certainly also true of jazz in Latvia. This music genre arrived here more than a hundred years ago and has significantly evolved. And if, in this Baltic country of less than two million inhabitants, we look at jazz as a family spanning an entire century, then we could say that a new teenager is again beginning to assert itself.
Since 2009, the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music has offered the opportunity to study jazz at a professional level. Contemporary rhythmic music and jazz have also been taught in music secondary schools, of which there are currently seven, evenly distributed across the entire country. The Latvian Ministry of Culture has been supporting development of jazz for already a decade – not sufficiently enough, however providing symbolic acknowledgement that this genre is part of the “family”. There’s constant support from the State Culture Capital Foundation and municipalities, too.
Anyone who has ever started something will remember the importance of that first recognition – it serves as confirmation that one is on the right path. For Latvian jazz, such a moment came in 2023, when a performance by the jazz trio of guitarist and composer Matīss Čudars received the Latvian Grand Music Award for the year’s best concert, beating out a programme of classical chamber music and a performance of a Wagner opera. In 2025 the Grand Music Award added an entire new category to its list – for “outstanding performance in jazz”. Jazz artists and events are increasingly being recognised by other awards as well, such as the “Kilogram of Culture”, theatre and film music awards, “GAMMA” and “Zelta Mikrofons”.
It’s become impossible to count all the jazz concerts that take place in Latvia every year. Jazz is played in small cultural venues and large concert halls throughout the country. The “Rīgas Ritmi” festival is already more than 20 years old, the “Saulkrasti Jazz” festival is even older, and events such as “Škiuņa Džezs” and “Art of Riga Jazz” have also found their place in the rich Latvian cultural scene. The VEF Jazz Club concert series has established a stable audience and “Pink Noise Riga” festival will debut this summer.
M/Darbnīca cultural venue keeps the spirit of jazz alive in Riga every week, joined by various venues in the regions. There’s a big increase in new albums in relation to the size of Latvia – and although most artists are releasing their records independently, the contribution of Jersika Records label is undeniable. We have only one true jazz historian Indriķis Veitners, however journalists on the Latvian Radio talk and play jazz, there’s a digital magazine JAZZin.lv, and the genre is regularly present in the Mūzikas Saule magazine, Baltic Outlook onboard magazine and other media.
Latvia regained its independence only little more than 30 years ago, and it has taken us a while to become independent and democratic in our minds and feelings. And this is perhaps the best thing that defines Latvian jazz at the moment – the ability to exist and not be afraid. And it has been a long road filled with obstacles. But now we know this road leads only forward!
Anete Ašmane-Vilsone, Journalist with Latvijas Sabiedriskais medijs (Public Broadcasting of Latvia)
Guide compiled by EJN member Latvian Music Information Centr (LMIC)
