The first concert day of the Rīgas Ritmi Festival has passed
Inserted: 07.07.2023
After the performance of the Cuban star Yilian Cañizares and the French bluesman Charles Passi in the Riga Cathedral garden, the first concert day of the 23rd international improvisation, jazz and global music festival Rīgas Ritmi has passed.
Cuban violinist and singer Yilian Cañizares, together with her compatriot, percussionist Inor Sotolongo and Mozambican guitarist Childo Thomas, offered the audience of the Rīgas Ritmi Festival an experienced journey in both the more lively and calmer waters of Caribbean music, while Charles Pasi, together with an accompanying group of four musicians, performed a concert run from peaceful ballads to a percussive climax, creating the feeling of a real Brazilian carnival party at the end of the performance. In between, both Nina Simone and Edith Piaf were quoted musically, and a tribute was played to the victims of the relatively recent Paris concert shooting.
In the morning, the two leading evening artists also gave exciting workshops in the Latvian Radio Studio 1, sharing their stories of professional musician adventures and playing music with the audience.
Meanwhile, the Latvian singer Monta Tupčijenko, who lives in Germany, performed with her band on the Riga Jazz Lounge stage in the Radisson Blu Latvija hotel, and after the concert, as is customary every night during the festival, an official jam session was held, curated by double bassist Andris Grunte and joined by several young Latvian talents. On the evening of July 6, trumpeter Reinis Puriņš, pianist Matīss Žilinskis and drummer Pauls Ķierpe, as well as trombonist Vadims Dmitrijevs, trumpeter Kristians Kalva, drummer Pauls Pokratnieks, singer Inese Bērziņa and other musicians jammed together at Riga Jazz Lounge.