RIGA - One of the greatest jazz festivals in Latvia is set to close with a series of huge concerts featuring some of the best musicians in the world.
"The final day of the festival is going to be outstanding… on Friday [April] 25, Igor Butman from Russia will be performing along with his Big Band and we are very excited. Bill Clinton called him the best saxophonist ever," Liepajas Cultural Department representative Kaspars Vecvagars told The Baltic Times.
Though not technically the last day of the festival, April 25 will certainly serve as the apex of the events as Butman will put on a massive outdoor show at Rose Square spanning the entire afternoon.
Liepaja's "Aile Inter-national Jazz Festival" began on April 11 and will close with a string of shows by local Baltic artists on Saturday, April 26. Bands from Russia, the United States, Sweden, Poland and the Baltic states are attending the festival.
Vecvagars said, however, that there is more to the festival than showcasing some of jazz's brightest stars in a Latvian venue.
"We have musicians coming in from all over the world, from the United States, Sweden and Russia. [But] it's not so much about how famous the musicians are, it's [about] enjoying the atmosphere… Jazz is like wine, the more you use it, the more you like it," he said.
Whatever the reason for the festivals appeal, it's working. Though it was only founded three years ago, the festival has quickly become one of the most prominent in Latvia.
"This is our third year doing the Jazz Festival and every year the audience is up 10 percent. Especially this year, there are a lot of young people getting into it 's and that makes the performers get more excited and it makes for a better show," Vecvagars said.
There were four driving forces behind the creation of "Aile International Jazz Festival."
Valdis Mors is head of the UPB holding company and the leading sponsor of the event. He decided to work with the festival after hearing a recording of "Crossroads," an album of the Liepaja Symphony Orchestra playing songs by the famous Latvian composer Raimonds Pauls. The record masterfully blends jazz and classical music, resulting in a performance that Mors felt he had to help continue.
Mors met up with Jekabs Ozolins, leader of the "Liepaja Big Band" jazz orchestra, and the two came up with the idea for the festival. With the help of the Liepaja Culture Department, which had long-hoped to establish a jazz festival that could rival the large annual ones held in Riga and Saulkrasti, "Aile Jazz" was born.
When the internationally acclaimed British pianist and composer Julian Joseph heard that there was going to be a festival, he decided to throw his weight behind the project. Joseph had played in Liepaja before, at the International Piano Star Festival, and wanted to return to the city for another show.
This year's festival coincides with another major Jazz festival in Estonia. Though the two festivals are organized separately, many of the artists have been traveling back and forth between the two venues to play shows.
