When the music starts, you know that everything is as it should be — everything is good.

24 Years of the Festival, 3 Years of the Stage: The Success of Rīgas Ritmi and Jersika Stage

As always, at the beginning of July, Riga is filled with jazz thanks to the Rīgas Ritmi festival. For twenty-four consecutive years, Māris Briežkalns has been organizing concerts and masterclasses. This year, the festival took place from July 3 to 6, featuring 15 high-quality concerts across four locations in the capital, as well as several masterclasses at the Latvian Radio Studio One. The lineup featured both outstanding international artists and excellent local musicians.

The central venue was the Riga Cathedral Garden, where on July 4 and 5 audiences could enjoy concerts by Italian bandoneonist Daniele di Bonaventura with the chamber orchestra Sinfonietta Rīga, Italian guitarist Antonio Forcione (based in the UK), Cuban pianist Jorge Luis Pacheco, and American vocalist José James.

Rīgas Ritmi 2024 also hosted concerts at the cultural center Noass, where the Jersika Records stage presented performances by the quartet of clarinetist Indriķis Veitners and vibraphonist Ēriks Miezis, as well as trombonist Vadims Dmitrijevs’ quartet and saxophonist Toms Rudzinskis’ quartet — all of which premiered their latest programs. (Interviews with each of these artists can be found in this issue, giving insight into their current projects.)

At the Latvian Radio Studio One, the festival’s headline artists led masterclasses, which, as always, turned into exclusive opportunities to meet world-class musicians and learn not only about their creative work but also about their unusual skills.

Another established festival location was the Riga Jazz Lounge at the Radisson Blu Latvija hotel, where singer Jūlija Zakirova, Ella Zirina’s trio, Veitners & Miezis’ quartet, and pianist Klāvs Ābols’ quintet all performed. The same lounge hosted the official festival jam sessions almost every evening. This year, the hotel family expanded to include the Lounge Fenikss at Aston Hotel Riga, with performances by pianist Matīss Žilinskis’ trio, harpist Elizabete Lāce’s project Jazz Meets Harp, guitarist Ella Zirina’s trio, and guitarist Reinis Jaunais with cellist Erna Daugaviete.

I personally attended concerts at both hotels and at Noass. I have to say, my opinion of hotel concerts hasn’t changed — you can’t really play «art» in such an environment. My personal mission this year was to finally hear Ella Zirina’s work, which I caught at the Radisson Blu lobby bar. Unfortunately, I «lucked out» with a seat right next to a strange ice machine that made it impossible to enjoy her performance fully. If the music had been of a different nature — louder, bluesier, more in line with last year’s British singer Louise Balkwill — then it would have worked. But Ella’s traditional guitar trio deserved silence and an environment free of distractions.

On the other hand, Lounge Fenikss pleasantly surprised me! Isolated from the noise of random passersby and the hotel, it offered an intimate hall with a bar that doesn’t shake cocktails or brew coffee during the show, and a beautiful new grand piano. In such a setting, it was an absolute pleasure to experience the artistry of local musicians.

Of course, my favorite location again this year was the Jersika stage on the other side of the Daugava — great music, outstanding musicians, and an authentic festival atmosphere! That’s also where I met the two key men behind the scenes who made sure Riga’s July began with jazz: Māris Briežkalns, with whom I spoke about 24 years of the festival and plans for its 25th anniversary, and Mareks Ameriks, about the label’s achievements and creative projects.

Mareks Ameriks

Congratulations — which year in a row is this for you?

This is the third year. In the previous years, we had two days.

Really? Congratulations on a successful third year of the festival, with your own stage! It’s great that your event feels distinct from the others at these venues.

Really? You feel that difference?

Yes, definitely. This year I haven’t been to the Dome Garden — I was there last year, and I don’t think much has changed. I did hear concerts at both hotels, which are very different in character. But here it’s an entirely different story — we all know the Floating Workshop, and this place has a special atmosphere, because we’re right on the riverbank in a green oasis, separated from the city noise. And all the musicians are «yours.»

You know, the point isn’t that they have to be Jersika artists. Jersika Records is more like a stage curator. Still, the musicians who perform can later become label artists. Initially, when I spoke with Māris about this year, everything came down to funding — if there’s some budget or foundation support, like in previous years when VKKF helped cover artist fees, then you can think about bringing in four artists or maybe doing two days. This year, the festival didn’t have such strong financial backing, so I had to build it from scratch, negotiating with each musician what I could afford to pay them. Unfortunately, the fees are more symbolic than they should be, but I’d like us to really value our own artists and give them proper festival fees. The music they play — it’s world-class.

We really do have something to be proud of.

We do! And that has to be appreciated.

Tell me, how did you even get the idea to create your own stage at the festival?

Rīgas Ritmi is already an iconic festival, a strong brand. At first, Jersika’s presence was just a little stand at Rīgas Ritmi back in the Congress Hall days — a small vinyl booth in the foyer. That was the beginning — the label inside the festival. Then the conversation naturally developed into the idea of having a Jersika Stage, and immediately I felt that if it were to happen, then NOASS would be the perfect place for a summer festival. Being close to the water, yet almost in the city center — and I used to come to NOASS concerts myself on Thursdays, where they host non-mainstream acts supported by the Riga City Council. So we started here. Initially, we worked for two days. This year, since there was no funding and we couldn’t secure support from foundations, it seemed best to hold the event on Saturday so that it wouldn’t overlap with the main concerts.

As for the line-ups — like I said, musicians don’t have to be tied to Jersika. But this year it happened that they all are. For example, Indriķis Veitners and Ēriks Miezis formed an entirely new group thanks to my encouragement, and now it lives its own life. I’m happy about that — we’ve recorded them and there’ll be a record. Vadims just released his album now, and Tom already has a Jersika release. It’s great that Tom could join this year, as in previous years, he was away touring abroad. However, this time we managed to coordinate with Tuomo and Bastian, who came to play with Vadim. We also had Juri Natsvlishvili here for the first time. Now, in the third year, the logistics are smoother — thanks to Oliver for the sound; he’s been with us all three years, and the NOASS people also trust that everything will go well. I’m grateful to them for that.

Have you decided that over these three years, some sort of vision has crystallized about what you want this festival day (or two) to look like?

You can always make it a bigger event — three or four good concerts in a cozy place to enjoy. However, I would also like to include something cinematic. People see the instruments on stage anyway, but I’d like to add another screen to make it more about that.

For two years in a row, you had films about historical events and personalities. How did you arrive at the idea of doing it in this form?

Well, I’m actually a historian by education. History has always interested me, and so has cinema. With Jersika Records, I’ve been doing portraits (episodes, chronicles)… The first impulse was about Jack Mihaļickis. At that time, a foundation had just been set up by Mārtiņš Saulespurēns, named after Jack Mihaļickis, with whom his father had played.

Additionally, Indriķis had just published his book on jazz up to the 1940s, so I decided to create a portrait — who exactly was Jack Mihaļickis? With Indriķis’s help, it worked out. For a low-budget project, it came out pretty good — informative, and at least something to say.

With KIKOK, it was similar. At first, I thought it would be just a YouTube episode, but then I saw how much material Juri Āķis had in his archives… The next step is about the 1970s–80s — Vasaras Ritmi, the Allegro club, and Ņidbaļskis, who has given me tapes from his archive. That’s in process. At some point, I’ll involve a film director too, just need to find funding for it.

That’s really great that you’re doing this. I wish you luck! But I also want to congratulate you on two new vinyl releases — Vadims Dmitrijevs and the historic live album of 2R+2B!

Thank you. Yes, Vadim Dmitrijev’s album is also the first live recording. Purvs was a live recording too, but that’s something different. It’s great that this one came out of the M/Darbnīca session series. When we recorded it, it was clear right away — everything was focused, well-produced. Often, you have the feeling that a program still needs to mature in live performance. But in their case, the timing was perfect — they’d already been playing together in Germany. When they arrived in Riga, they performed at Latvian Radio Studio, so by the time of the M/Darbnīca concert, they were already well-rehearsed.

And 2R+2B is history that needs to be preserved. There will be more releases — stay tuned for the news!

Māris Briežkalns

So, Jersika Stage is already celebrating its third year, but the festival itself has an even bigger milestone coming — next year’s anniversary!

Yes, this was already the twenty-fourth edition.

Should we expect something special next year?

Every year is special. You can’t plan it — only when the music starts playing do you know that everything is as it should be, that everything is good.

But that number is special.

It is extraordinary. We’re not a state institution — every year we start from zero. Basically, it’s just the two of us, me and Diāna [Briežkalne]. However, music gives us the responsibility to search for new talent and projects. If we manage to bring it all together and find like-minded people, then it works out.

Do you already have ideas for next year?

Ideas are there, but it’s like jazz — things can turn around and appear at the last minute, so you can’t thoroughly plan it. You can plan the venues and logistics, but the artistic side often arrives at the last minute. In general, it’s year-round work.

This year, you added another concert venue — the Aston Hotel Lounge.

Yes! Of course, we’re happy that Latvian musicians have one more place to perform and receive some form of compensation. The most important thing is that it’s genuinely a concert venue, not just a corner for background music where people sip coffee or stronger drinks. People come there for a concert. They have a good piano, a lovely, intimate atmosphere. Already, young musicians have appeared there, like harpist Elizabete Lāce, Matīss Žilinskis, Klāvs Ābols, and others. It’s a place where musicians can really express themselves in front of an audience.

The piano there is beautiful — I noticed it during Elizabete Lāce’s concert!

Yes! It sounds great — we replaced it with a Steinway, the one that’s there now. I think we’ll restart the series in autumn. Every year, we need to improve and develop something. On the other hand, two hotels are competing, but for us, Latvian musicians must have places to play.

And Radisson is also a Rīgas Ritmi initiative?

That’s where we started — summer festival concerts followed by jam sessions. The place works well because it has good acoustics — neither too loud nor too quiet. Another thing — there’s always movement, people are already there, so you don’t need to bring in an audience from outside. One of the festival’s central added values is collaboration — with businesses, the public, and artists. For an organizer, the most challenging part is ensuring everyone is satisfied. We all work for one common goal — to raise the level of culture. And there’s so much to do… You could write a book about it.

Isn’t there already a handbook for festival organizers somewhere? [laughs]

I don’t think so! It’s like a puzzle — one person knows how to do this, another knows that, then there are volunteers… so much happens backstage!

What felt special to you this year?

This year, I especially liked the sound and atmosphere in the Dome Garden. And of course, there was a discovery — Daniele di Bonaventura with his bandoneon and the Sinfonietta Rīga first violin. Those are the moments when you feel, «Ah… something alive!» That’s what you search for in the festival — when the creative spirit comes out, not when a union forces someone to play, or when it’s just business.

I really liked José James — his charisma is so powerful, yet at the same time, he’s so simple. I also liked Jorge Luis Pacheco very much, the way he worked with the audience. The main thing is to have good, high-quality music and concerts that people really listen to — no one wandering around with beer, but full attention on the musicians. And the musicians value that, too, that people are listening.

Every year is different, and every year there’s something special. This year, by the way, the masterclasses were especially successful — all the artists were fully engaged, sharing their knowledge, and it was extremely valuable for the students.