Hugo Carvalhais Oblong Emission

Portugal-LithuaniaHugo Carvalhais – db, compositions
Mário Costa – dr
Gabriel Pinto – keyb
Fernando Rodrigues – keyb
Fábio Almeida – sax
Liudas Mockūnas – sax

Hugo Carvalhais, one of the most talented and idiosyncratic Portuguese jazz artists of his generation, concludes his series of albums with this project exploring various aspects of life and physical reality.He embarked on this journey in 2010 with the album Nebulosa, which transports listeners into the vastness of space. The artist recorded it alongside saxophonist Tim Berne, the New York avant-garde luminary. The Portuguese magazine Jazz.pt rated the album as one of the most significant Portuguese jazz albums of recent decades.

In 2012, Carvalhais released his second album, Partícula, recorded with French violinist Dominique Pifarély and saxophonist Émile Parisien. It was praised by European critics for its unique blend of electroacoustic music and jazz. In 2015, the Portuguese artist’s album Gran Valis, inspired by science fiction writer Philip K. Dick’s trilogy of novels and exploring the divide between the macro- and micro-worlds, won the prestigious CHOC award from the French magazine JazzMagazine. In 2022, with his album Ascetica, the artist delved into the mysterious depths of the human consciousness.

All the albums were released by the Portuguese record label Clean Feed, which has become a catalyst for the rise of free jazz and improvisational music in Lisbon. It has firmly established Carvalhais’ status as a master of modern music.

The artist is now presenting Sacra, the finale of his multi-movement cycle. At the Vilnius Jazz, accompanied by a select group of top-class musicians, he will revisit the key milestones, landscapes and compositions of his 16-year creative journey, opening up new horizons for improvisation.

Dainius Pulauskas Group

Dainius Pulauskas – keyb, compositions
Valerijus Ramoška – tp, flhn
Liutauras Janušaitis – ts, keyb
Tomas Botyrius – as, ss
Domas Aleksa – bg
Domantas Razmus – dr
Arkadij Gotesman – perc

Dainius Pulauskas Group is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Thirty springs have passed since its debut in March 1996 at the Birštonas Jazz Festival. This is also the title, Thirty Springs, of the group’s latest, 12th album, which the musicians will present at the Vilnius Jazz to mark the anniversary.Pulauskas has composed eight dynamic and contrasting compositions for this album, demonstrating his commitment to the fusion style and to vivid combinations of electronic and acoustic timbres, whose distinctive sound has won over jazz audiences not only in Lithuania but also in other parts of the world.

Thirty years ago, Pulauskas’ fusion group made its debut as a jazz quintet and soon expanded into a sextet, which became one of the world’s best-known Lithuanian jazz formations. In 2001, the group won the Lithuanian Musicians’ Union’s “Golden Disc,” awarded to the country’s best musicians of the year. In 2004, the sextet received the Lithuanian Institute’s “LT Identity” award for promoting Lithuanian jazz around the world.Since 2004, all of Pulauskas’ jazz ensembles, which perform exclusively his music, have been known as the Dainius Pulauskas Group (DPG). They have brought even greater international recognition to Lithuania, having performed at over 170 festivals across four continents. The DPG was the first group from Lithuania to take the stage in Malaysia, Indonesia, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, and South Korea, and has performed at major festivals in India. The group has been applauded by audiences at prestigious jazz festivals in Ottawa, London, Tokyo, and Washington, D.C.The authoritative jazz website Allaboutjazz.com has recognized the group’s leader, Pulauskas, as one of the most interesting fusion composers in European jazz, and his sextet as a significant force on the progressive European fusion jazz scene.

Today, the group brings together a select group of Lithuanian musicians from different generations. The younger new members infuse its music with fresh energy.

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Vilnius Jazz 2026: Hugo Carvalhais Oblong Emission (PT-LT), Dainius Pulauskas Group (LT)