Gabija Baužaitė and Vytautas Straižys | From Jazz Classics to Rhythm and Blues
Gabija Baužaitė · Vytautas Straižys · jazz · soul
On 3 October, two musicians who have an excellent feel for one another will meet on the Downtown Piano Lab stage: vocalist Gabija Baužaitė, with her distinctive timbre, and virtuoso pianist Vytautas Straižys. This is not their first musical encounter. The duo have performed together and are already loved by audiences, captivating listeners with something that cannot be rehearsed down to the smallest detail: a living dialogue, spontaneous improvisations and music that sounds different every time. Gabija Baužaitė holds a master's degree in jazz from LMTA, is a songwriter and one of the most prominent vocalists on Lithuania's contemporary jazz and soul scene. Her warm, rich voice with its low tones is often compared to Diana Krall. Subtlety and inner strength come together in Gabija's performance: with just a few notes she can create an intimate mood, and the next moment fill the entire hall with emotion. Vytautas Straižys is a graduate of the M. K. Čiurlionis School of Arts who completed his jazz studies in the Netherlands. His playing brings together virtuosic technique, rich harmony and free improvisation, and his musical influences range from Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson and Herbie Hancock to Claude Debussy and Sergei Rachmaninoff. In the evening's programme, jazz classics will meet interpretations of soul and pop music. Yet what matters most here will not be the names of genres but the closeness created by the two performers: voice, piano and the space between the notes, where true music is born. We invite you to a cosy, elegant and lively jazz evening for those who want not only to listen to music, but also to experience it. The Dainykla project is partly funded by Vilnius City Municipality.