Kęstutis Vaiginis Trio
An international jazz trio from Lithuania, Finland, and Poland will perform original compositions by Kęstutis Vaiginis.
Renowned jazz musicians Kęstutis Vaiginis (Lithuania, saxophone), Joonas Haavisto (Finland, piano), and Michał Barański (Poland, double bass) will present an evening of original works by Vaiginis at the Music Magic Club. Bringing together artists from different countries and musical traditions, the trio promises an unforgettable performance filled with captivating compositions, distinctive artistry, virtuosity, and vibrant energy.
Kęstutis Vaiginis is one of Lithuania’s most prolific jazz artists. An ambitious saxophonist who has collaborated with world-class American jazz musicians such as Alex Sipiagin, Jonathan Blake, Dave Kikoski, Boris Kozlov, Donald Edwards, and David Berkman, he is the initiator and leader of numerous international projects. As both a bandleader and guest artist, Vaiginis has appeared at prestigious festivals including North Sea Jazz, Rotterdam, London, Ottawa, Cape Town, Tokyo, Istanbul, and Hong Kong Jazz Festivals. He has toured extensively throughout Europe, Asia, North America, and Africa. In Lithuania, he regularly organizes concert tours featuring distinguished guests from the United States and Europe. In 2013, Vaiginis became the first recipient of the European Culture Foundation’s Europamusicale Music Prize, awarded annually to an outstanding European musician.
Michał Barański is an acclaimed Polish jazz double bassist. He won the Grand Prix at the 40th Jazz nad Odrą Festival and received major awards including the “Swinging Raven” at the 3rd Hot Jazz Spring Festival in Częstochowa and the “Jazz Angel” Award at Bielska Zadymka Jazz Festival. With the group Triology, he placed fourth at the international Jazz Hoeilaart competition in Belgium. Barański is a two-time recipient of the prestigious Fryderyk Award (the Polish equivalent of the Grammy Awards) for the albums Assymetry (with Zbigniew Namysłowski) and Umiera Piękno (with Aga Zaryan). Throughout his career, he has collaborated with numerous leading jazz artists, including Bennie Maupin, Dayna Stephens, Dan Tepfer, Nigel Kennedy, Tomasz Stańko, Michał Urbaniak, Adam Bałdych, and many others. His album Early Reflections, recorded with jazz legend Bennie Maupin, was ranked second in JazzTimes Critics’ Poll for Best Album of 2008.
Joonas Haavisto is a Finnish pianist and composer widely regarded as one of the most exciting jazz musicians of his generation on the Nordic jazz scene. In 2017, he joined the prestigious roster of Steinway Artists and has received awards at several international competitions, including Jazz Improvization 2006, Young Nordic Jazz Comets 2007, and Jazz Hoeilaart 2010. He has performed throughout Europe, North America, and Japan with his own ensembles and as a soloist with leading Finnish chamber orchestras, including the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra of Lapland. Haavisto has collaborated with distinguished jazz musicians such as Jerry Bergonzi, Jonathan Kreisberg, Tivon Pennicott, Michael Formanek, and John Fedchock. In addition to his performance career, he composes for chamber orchestras, big bands, solo piano, popular music artists, and film. He composed and performed the piano score for The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki, which won the Un Certain Regard Prize at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival and was selected as Finland’s official submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
