Arta Jekabsone Quartet (USA)
JAZZ OF FOUR CONTINENTS

New York City-based Latvian singer, composer and arranger Arta Jēkabsone is recognized by her velvety tone. Arta engages listeners with an emotional and honest, adventurous and joyful expression of music. Arta was awarded 1st prize at the Montreux Shure Jazz Voice Competition in Switzerland (2016), 2nd prize at the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Voice competition (2017), and 3rd prize at the Ella Fitzgerald International Vocal Competition (2019).  In 2017, Jēkabsone released her debut album, Light. Recently her album with Erik Leuthäuser, Yesterday Still Lies Between the Floorboards, came out with support from the record label Unit Records. Jēkabsone’s musical horizons start with simple Latvian folk melodies, harmonies and structures and can reach to something more complex, more toward the world of improvisation. Arta believes that scat singing is another adventurous part of her, because it’s always a challenge to create something in the moment. As Arta puts it: “Improvisation is like creating an instant composition without paper—taking risks and telling a story”.

Unconditional love for music has been rooted in Jēkabsone’s childhood.  Alongside her voice, the violin has always been a part of Arta’s musical development; Arta calls it her “heart instrument.” Jēkabsone plays violin like she sings—and vice versa—and attests that the violin has been a crucial means to being capable of hearing sounds the way she hears them. Her musical perspective has been gained from artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Bobby Hutcherson and Nina Simone. Arta has performed internationally: the Enjoy Jazz Festival (2018) in Germany, Užutrakio Vakarai Music Festival (2018) in Lithuania, Montreux Jazz Festival (2017) and Berne Jazz Festival (2016) in Switzerland, to name a few. She has sung in a funk band, a jazz trio and as a backup singer for Sheila Ray Charles, daughter of Ray Charles. In 2017, she took part in a Montreux Jazz Academy adventure featuring prestigious mentors like Kurt Rosenwinkel, Marcus Miller and Yaron Herman. Arta defines herself as a part of music and is a vibrant color in the broad musical pallet.

Arta Jekabsone (USA) – voc; Walter Phishbacher (USA) – p; Jan Kořínek (CZ) – b; Joris Dudli (AT) – dr.

Admission: seated 450 Kč, standing 250 Kč.There is no need to reserve a seat when purchasing a seating ticket.

Band website: artajekabsone.com