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Petras Vysniauskas

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"Something of the rugged beauty of the Lithuanian countryside and the passion of many of his fellow countrymen has been breathed into his music. The use of themes from traditional folk music is one facet of this saxophonist, who reflects both the modern development in jazz and the sound idioms of the new and latest improvised and composed music." (Bert Noglik)

Inspired by his playing, several composers of symphonic or chamber music composed pieces especially for him. Petras Vysniauskas played with Steve Lacy, Han Bennink, Jon Christensen, Tomasz Stanko, Vladimir Chekasin BigBand, Vyacheslav Ganelin, Kent Carter, Jimmy Owens, Elliot Sharp, Paul Jeffrey, the "Rova Saxophone Quartet", Charly Mariano, Karl Berger, Bobo Stenson, Vladimir Volkov, Vijay Iyer, Hilliard Greene, Eric Vloeimans, Antoni Donchev, John Lindberg a.o..

Arkady Gotesman: Music For An Imaginary Ballet

Read "Music For An Imaginary Ballet" reviewed by Ieva Pakalniskyte

by Ieva Pakalniskyte
December 6, 2025

Arkady Gotesman occupies a singular position in Lithuanian music scene, having performed across more than fifty international festivals and concerts as a percussionist, composer and interdisciplinary artist whose work spans jazz, contemporary classical repertoire, free improvisation, theatre, literature and film. Over four decades he has collaborated with an exceptional range of musicians--from Vyacheslav Ganelin, Petras Vysniauskas, Liudas Mockūnas, Anthony Coleman and Mats Gustafsson to Nate Wooley, Charles Gayle, Barry Guy and Dave Douglas, among many others--while also premiering works by Anatolijus Šenderovas, Osvaldas Balakauskas, ...

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Album Review

Five Spot: Poltva

by Alex Martynov
May 9, 2009

There is not a great number of releases from the Ukrainian free-jazz scene. Admittedly, this scene is not very crowded with performers; still, it has something worth documenting. One of the most interesting albums of 2008 is from the international quintet Five Spot and Poltva. The name of the album is symbolic: Poltva is the name of the river that flows beneath the surface of the city of Lviv, where the album was recorded a year before its release. And ...