The 23rd international improvisation, jazz and global music festival Rīgas Ritmi will take place from July 5 to July 8 this year. Artists from Cuba, Switzerland, Mozambique, Spain, France, Denmark and the United Kingdom will come to Riga, but the main Latvian artist at the festival will be Maestro Raimonds Pauls, who together with the chamber orchestra Sinfonietta Rīga will premiere the symphonic jazz program Songs Without Words.
The biggest concerts of the festival will be held in the Riga Cathedral Garden, where on July 6 the representative of the new golden generation of Cuban jazz, singer and violinist Yilian Cañizares will perform with the Resilience Trio, and in the second part of the evening, the charismatic French blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player Charles Pasi with band. And on July 7, the Danish flamenco guitar virtuoso Jacob Gurevitsch with his trio will perform, the Raimonds Paul’s trio following in the second part together with the chamber orchestra Sinfonietta Rīga under the direction of conductor Normunds Šnē.
The compositions of the new program are fresh arrangements created by the British composer Callum Au of well-known Raimonds Paul’s melodies in Latvia and beyond its borders, which will thus have acquired a new breath and, thanks to the impressive group of musicians, also a sonic scope. On July 7, a vinyl record will be released, which was recorded in the Latvian Radio Studio 1.
The sounds of the violin will also be heard at the festival on the evening of July 6, as Yilian Cañizares stands out in Cuban music with the atypical skill of playing this instrument, learned in the classical school, but then turned in the direction of jazz, adding a soulful vocal. Cañizares reached the highest echelon of Cuban jazz after recording the album Aguas together with pianist Omar Sosa, with the participation of percussionist Inor Sotolongo, who will also perform at this year's festival in Riga. He and Yilian will be joined by Childo Thomas, a Mozambican bassist living in Spain. Cañizares has collaborated with many big names of the jazz world and has become a recognized teacher of violin playing and jazz improvisation in her current home country of Switzerland.
The second artist of the July 6 concert evening – singer, guitarist and harmonica master Charles Pasi – was born in the family of an Italian father and a French mother, but lived on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, bringing a deep understanding of the blues from the USA to Europe. Mixing it together with jazz improvisation, Pasi became an artist of the legendary label Blue Note Records in 2015. By collaborating with musicians of various genres, Pasi has created his unique style, which has no boundaries, but there is a lot of artistic creativity, at the same time felt fragility and exciting dynamics. His performance is like a real journey both geographically and emotionally.
In the first part of the concert evening on July 7, the audience will have the opportunity to enjoy the performance of Jacob Gurevitsch, a colorful and especially loved artist in the world of guitar music. His recordings are among the most streamed acts of any guitarist, reaching over three million monthly streams on digital platforms. Gurevitsch's guitar playing is saturated with cross-cultural references, united by a common denominator – passion. He fell in love with Spanish guitar playing during a tour as the guitarist of the blues-rock band The Savage Rose, when he was asked to delve a little deeper into this direction as well... In order to feel even more the subtle nuances of flamenco, Jacob found his second home in Majorca, which knows no shortage of sun. Gurevitsch's apparently carefree music-making style will also offer visitors of our festival to indulge in relaxing imagination and a sense of romance.
Other festival locations will be announced along with its full program. On July 6 and 7, the Latvian Radio Studio 1 will also host entrance-free workshops given by the main guest artists of the festival.
Meanwhile, tickets for the concerts of the festival planned in the Riga Cathedral Garden have already been launched in the Biļešu paradīze service at bilesuparadize.lv.
The biggest concerts of the festival will be held in the Riga Cathedral Garden, where on July 6 the representative of the new golden generation of Cuban jazz, singer and violinist Yilian Cañizares will perform with the Resilience Trio, and in the second part of the evening, the charismatic French blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player Charles Pasi with band. And on July 7, the Danish flamenco guitar virtuoso Jacob Gurevitsch with his trio will perform, the Raimonds Paul’s trio following in the second part together with the chamber orchestra Sinfonietta Rīga under the direction of conductor Normunds Šnē.
The compositions of the new program are fresh arrangements created by the British composer Callum Au of well-known Raimonds Paul’s melodies in Latvia and beyond its borders, which will thus have acquired a new breath and, thanks to the impressive group of musicians, also a sonic scope. On July 7, a vinyl record will be released, which was recorded in the Latvian Radio Studio 1.
The sounds of the violin will also be heard at the festival on the evening of July 6, as Yilian Cañizares stands out in Cuban music with the atypical skill of playing this instrument, learned in the classical school, but then turned in the direction of jazz, adding a soulful vocal. Cañizares reached the highest echelon of Cuban jazz after recording the album Aguas together with pianist Omar Sosa, with the participation of percussionist Inor Sotolongo, who will also perform at this year's festival in Riga. He and Yilian will be joined by Childo Thomas, a Mozambican bassist living in Spain. Cañizares has collaborated with many big names of the jazz world and has become a recognized teacher of violin playing and jazz improvisation in her current home country of Switzerland.
The second artist of the July 6 concert evening – singer, guitarist and harmonica master Charles Pasi – was born in the family of an Italian father and a French mother, but lived on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, bringing a deep understanding of the blues from the USA to Europe. Mixing it together with jazz improvisation, Pasi became an artist of the legendary label Blue Note Records in 2015. By collaborating with musicians of various genres, Pasi has created his unique style, which has no boundaries, but there is a lot of artistic creativity, at the same time felt fragility and exciting dynamics. His performance is like a real journey both geographically and emotionally.
In the first part of the concert evening on July 7, the audience will have the opportunity to enjoy the performance of Jacob Gurevitsch, a colorful and especially loved artist in the world of guitar music. His recordings are among the most streamed acts of any guitarist, reaching over three million monthly streams on digital platforms. Gurevitsch's guitar playing is saturated with cross-cultural references, united by a common denominator – passion. He fell in love with Spanish guitar playing during a tour as the guitarist of the blues-rock band The Savage Rose, when he was asked to delve a little deeper into this direction as well... In order to feel even more the subtle nuances of flamenco, Jacob found his second home in Majorca, which knows no shortage of sun. Gurevitsch's apparently carefree music-making style will also offer visitors of our festival to indulge in relaxing imagination and a sense of romance.
Other festival locations will be announced along with its full program. On July 6 and 7, the Latvian Radio Studio 1 will also host entrance-free workshops given by the main guest artists of the festival.
Meanwhile, tickets for the concerts of the festival planned in the Riga Cathedral Garden have already been launched in the Biļešu paradīze service at bilesuparadize.lv.
