Rīgas Ritmi Festival – the second day

The 21st International Festival of Improvisation, Jazz and Global Music Rīgas Ritmi continued on July 1 with the concert of the Toms Mikāls trio in the art space M/Darbnīca and the performance of the special festival project Riga Jazz Allstars led by pianist Viktors Ritovs at the music house Daile.

 

Toms Mikāls, together with double bassist Reinis Ozoliņš and drummer Kaspars Kurdeko, in the concert hall of the art space M/Darbnīca offered an enthusiastic journey mostly in Mikāls' original works. Martin Longley, a journalist from the largest British jazz magazine Jazzwise, who came to the festival, enthusiastically followed the twists and turns of the musically close trio, noting the surprisingly great acoustics of the concert venue, which allows you to enjoy the finest nuances of sound, as well as the very carefully music-capturing audience.

 

No less well-sounding musical wave in the music house Daile was offered by a much larger group of musicians – pianist Viktors Ritovs, guitarist Kaspars Vizulis, double bassist Andris Grunte, drummer Artis Orubs, as well as wind instrument masters Kristaps Lubovs, Oskars Ozoliņš and Laura Rozenberga from Latvian Radio big band and jazz-funk band Very Cool People. 

 

The young vocalist Paula Saija, who played freely with arrangements of Latvian Maestro Raimonds Pauls' latest jazz compositions with added vocal parts, as well as jazz standards performed in different languages, was a special berry on the musical cake for those gathered at the music house Daile.

 

The program of the second day of the festival ended on the terrace of the art space M/Darbnīca, also offering a good-sounding warm summer evening jam session.