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Arta Jēkabsone
Arta Jēkabsone vocalist,composer and arranger
About Me
New York City-based Latvian singer, composer, and arranger Arta Jēkabsone is recognized for her
velvety tone. Arta engages listeners with emotional and honest, adventurous, and joyful
expressions of music. Her musical horizons start with simple Latvian folk song melodies,
harmonies, and structures yet can reach something more complex—closer to the world of
improvisation. The unifying element is the storytelling.
She was awarded 1st prize at the prestigious Montreux Shure Jazz Voice Competition in
Switzerland (2016), 2nd prize at Mid–Atlantic Jazz Voice competition (2017), and 3rd prize at Ella
Fitzgerald International Vocal Competition (2019). In 2017, she released her debut album Light.
Since then, she has collaborated with various artists on projects including Edgars Cīrulis
International Group’s Aisma and Yesterday Still Lies Between the Floorboards, a duo album with
Erik Leuthauser. She has performed at various international Jazz Festivals to name a few
Montreux Jazz Festival 2017, Enjoy Jazz Festival 2018, Nikolaisaal Potsdam Festival 2020. Her
2nd original music project Reflections was nominated for the Latvian Annual Concert 2019.
In recent years, Arta has been performing at NYC’s most imaginatively booked jazz club The Jazz
Gallery, where she has premiered most of her original music projects, her debut album Light and
Reflections. A couple of times Arta has been featured at The Jazz Gallery Lockdown Sessions
alongside artists like Camila Meza, Aaron Parks, Dayna Stephens, and many more.
In March 2021, she premiered there her newest multidisciplinary and bilingual performance
Letters to Home, which gained a lot of positive and heartfelt feedback.
At the current moment, Arta is collaborating with Erik Leuthauser, and their newest original
music based on English Poet Dean’s Wilson poetry was featured on Dean World, a short film
directed by Dave Lee.
Jēkabsone’s one of the greatest recent achievements are being awarded The Jazz Gallery
Residency Commission Grant 2021 and the 3rd prize winner at the 10th Annual Sarah Vaughan
International Jazz Voice Competition 2021.
Arta defines herself as a part of the music and is a vibrant color in the broad musical palette.
