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Award-winning jazz trombone


Estere Kristiāna Ozoliņa

Vadims Dmitrijevs — a prominent, passionate, and young Latvian jazz trombonist who received an «Audience Favorite» award

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A significant event in the music world occurred at the beginning of March — the Lielā Mūzikas Balva 2023 [Great Music Award]. Although the award usually focuses on classical music, this year, similar to the past few years, jazz musicians managed to shine as they were nominated in various categories. Jazz made its presence felt among the nominees and triumphed, as the Latvian Radio Big Band became the laureate in the category «For outstanding performance over the year.» Every year, special attention is given to the «New Musician of the Year» category, and this year, jazz made its mark there as well, with one of the three nominees being none other than jazz trombonist Vadims Dmitrijevs. I had the opportunity to speak with him before and after the ceremony. Last year, Vadims Dmitrijevs’ quintet participated in the creation of the «Live At The M/Darbnīca Vol. 1» album, which was nominated this year for the Latvian Music Recording of the Year award «Zelta Mikrofons». With the same lineup, Vadims performed at the prestigious «Elbjazz» festival in Hamburg alongside Grammy Award winner Charlie Porter. At the same time, he participated in the «Rigas Ritmi» festival and performed in several concerts with the Latvian Radio Big Band, one of which was with his idol Nils Landgren. Currently, Vadims is pursuing his master’s studies in Hamburg.

I met him at the Latvian National Opera House at the Awards ceremony. Although Vadims did not win in his category, he was awarded the «Delfi» Audience Sympathy Prize. This is symbolic and touching because this award was not given by the jury but by the audience. It proves the love for jazz in Latvia. Vadims shared his feelings at the opera ceremony. «Unexpected. I had already heard my nomination. When they asked me to return to the hall, I was on my way to the dressing room to prepare for the second part. A surprising turn of events. Since I didn’t expect to receive anything, I didn’t prepare a speech. Like a true jazz musician, I had to improvise,» Vadims laughed. In this conversation, he shared stories about his experiences in Hamburg, the Award ceremony, the lack of Baltic jazz trombonists on the world jazz scene, and his sources of inspiration.

You are currently studying for your master’s degree in Hamburg. How has it been going for you in Germany?

Studies are quite flexible. Each student can choose their own program. Now, for the first time, at the master’s final concert exam, we will perform only my compositions. There will be eleven pieces, with three different ensembles, with which I will present them. The concert is called «From Duo to Big Band.» It will lean more towards jazz but also have a bit of a pop touch. I will conclude with my compositions for the big band. Hamburg is one of the most liberal study places. Students here can choose not only their study subjects but also teachers, even if they aren’t among the school staff.

A cliché question, but inevitable. What have been the major milestones in your growth? Who have been the teachers in Latvia and abroad that have played a significant role in your development?

Emīls Dārziņš Music School has played a huge role in my life, where I studied from the first to the last grade. There, for the first time, trombonist Boļeslavs Voļaks put a trombone in my hands. A Latvian trombone legend, a father figure. He has raised all generations of trombonists in Latvia. I studied with him for eight years, specifically in the classical music sphere with symphonic and brass orchestras. I never excelled in solo classical music. In my last three years of studies, I became interested in jazz, interacted with Dāvis Jurka and Kārlis Vanags, and started playing in the «City Jazz» big band. Later, there was a significant turning point in my life when there was a competition for the 2nd trombone position in the Latvian Radio Big Band when I was in 12th grade. I decided to try it out and started learning jazz standards for the first time in my life, reading jazz sheet music. It really captivated me, and I decided to join the jazz department at JVLMA, even though I had little knowledge of jazz. The success story was that I was accepted into the jazz department. The Academy provided me with a foundation — Indriķis Veitners, Dominykas Vyšņiauskas, Kārlis Vanags, Dāvis Jurka. They gave me experience in the academy and the Radio Big Band, where I occasionally filled in for someone. Then came the «Erasmus+» time when I went to Hamburg. I had already developed a love for Germany. I realized that Germany was where I wanted to go for further studies.

And which teachers inspired you abroad? How did you learn the language of jazz trombone? I understand that there is a shortage of jazz trombonists in Latvia.

I saw an advertisement for the NDR Big Band promoting my current trombone teacher as their musician. He was in Bremen. After meeting him, I realized I wanted to study with him. He is an American who has been living in Germany for 30 years. He has many stories about musicians he has met at concerts. I learned the language of jazz trombone from him, a language we do not have in Latvia. This is also the topic of my master’s thesis — why, historically and currently, are there very few jazz trombonists in the Baltic states? I researched and found out that there have been none in Estonia and Latvia. In Lithuania, Jievaras Jasinskis is a well-known professional in the three Baltic states. As a young student, I didn’t have anyone to learn the trombone language from, so I learned from trumpeters and saxophonists. Right when I left for Hamburg, I was like, «Wow, the trombone is an instrument, too!» The trombone is a recognized instrument. It plays in quartets, where it’s the primary solo instrument. It seemed to me that I could be one too. It seemed like the trombone also had a place in jazz music. I just had to work on it further. During the COVID times, I was stuck at the academy; it was the final year of my bachelor’s degree. At that time, I was invited to work with the Latvian Radio Big Band, where I worked for a year. It was a huge experience to play with the big band and soloists. For example, with one of my idols, Nils Landgren. Despite having a job and a bachelor’s degree, I decided to continue my studies in Hamburg. I enrolled in the master’s program, and everything is going uphill despite not being in the Latvian Radio Big Band. I have had the opportunity to work with my idols as well. For example, Bob Moses — Jaco Pastorius’ drummer, a 70-year-old hippie. Wolf Kerschek, the head of the Hamburg Jazz Department, played a significant role in my development. He is a big band conductor, composer, arranger, and also my teacher. This guy has talent; he is a workaholic. When he conducts, even the school’s big band sounds professional after a couple of rehearsals. I realized I would learn little about the specificities of the trombone in Latvia. Jazz is at a good level in Latvia, but not like in America. I had to absorb all the information I could.

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This year has been productive for you, and you have been nominated for the «New Musician of the Year» category at the Great Music Awards. What does this award mean to you? What were the highlights when looking back at the past year?

For a couple of weeks, I tried to understand why I was nominated. I still don’t have a clear answer. I participated in J. J. Johnson’s jazz trombonist competition and was honored to get fifth place. Unfortunately, I made it to the final five, not the top three. It was a cool event because, coming from a country where the jazz trombonist culture doesn’t exist at all, being in the top five of the world’s first jazz trombonist competition is cool. We had a couple of recordings with a quintet for the Latvian Radio archives. We recorded a concert for «Jerisika Records» at the «M/Darbnīca.» The quintet was brought from Germany. Then, with the same quintet, we performed at the «Elbjazz» festival in Hamburg. We were invited by the Grammy Award winner Charlie Porter. That was one of the biggest events. In parallel, there was activity at the «Rigas Ritmi» festival. It was a cool experience; I played with vocalist Louise Balkwill from London. She was the winner of the «Riga Jazz Stage 2022.» We played two concerts with her. I also participated in jazz sessions. I played many concerts in Latvia and Germany. A concert with the Latvian Radio Big Band and Nils Landgren. I was in seventh heaven at that concert! For most of the concerts last year, I played with great joy and an ecstatic feeling.

How do you balance your studies with concert performances in Latvia? Have you been able to travel? What are your future plans — more in Germany or Latvia?

Sometimes, I manage to bring musicians to Latvia. I celebrated my birthday with my German colleagues in Riga. I have established many contacts. Currently, I have a duet with a Brazilian guitarist in Hamburg. I want to bring them to Riga because Brazilian music is not played much in Latvia.

Music is my passion, so I hope to record it this year. I have now spent an equal amount of time in both countries. I recently spent six weeks in Latvia from mid-December to the end of January. I had received an offer to work at a cabaret in Latvia. Of course, if given a choice between having fifteen well-paid concerts in one place, I would choose to work and earn money rather than do nothing, playing just one or two concerts in a club in Germany.

I aim to stay with this even after finishing my studies. It’s a quirk of my personality. I am not the type of person who can stay in one place for a long time. I love Riga. It’s my favorite city in the world! However, even Riga can get a little tedious. After four or five weeks, you’ve met everyone everywhere. The same thing happens in Hamburg as well. I have a bit more free time in Germany, which I can dedicate to project planning and composing music. Yesterday, we had a Brazilian music concert. We played in an interesting ensemble — bassoon, trombone, and guitar. It made me realize how similar the bassoon is to the trombone. It’s worth mentioning that the highest-paid concert in Germany was for Latvians. We had to play two folk songs. The port of Lübeck wanted to invite two Latvians to play for Latvians. We played for the President.