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Karolis Šarkus

Karolis Šarkus is one of the young generation jazz musicians from Lithuania. National press already described him as a very promising music figure. Started from classical saxophone at the age of 6, Karolis now studies jazz and plays a variety of musical genres. He finished his bachelor studies in Conservatorium van Amsterdam under direction of Jasper Blom and Simon Rigter, studied in the Philadelphia with Dick Oatts for a while and now is seeking to get his master’s degree studying with Ben Van Gelder (Amsterdam). Karolis has already performed in Lithuania, Latvia, The Czech Republic, Romania, Italy, Switzerland and The Netherlands. Furthermore, he won some international competitions - 7th International Student Jazz Festival (Grand Prix - Targu Mures, RO), Vilnius Jazz Young Power 2014 (Grand Prix - Vilnius, LT), 22nd International Juozas Pakalnis Competition (Grand Prix - Vilnius, LT) and more. He is a steady member of five bands, released 2 albums as as sideman and is going to release two more - as a co-leader (November 2020) and a debut album as a leader (February 2021).

Karolis Šarkus: Palette of Feelings

Read "Palette of Feelings" reviewed by Vitalijus Gailius

by Vitalijus Gailius
August 1, 2021

Karolis Šarkus is a promising young Lithuanian jazz saxophonist who is well aware of European and American jazz traditions. He is a co-founder of the traditional sounding collective Collaborative Jazz Septet. However, Šarkus cannot be described as a die-hard adherent to tradition. On the contrary, his compositional style is mainly characterized by expanding jazz boundaries beyond established norms.Palette of Feelings is Šarkus' long-awaited debut album. It begins with “Meeting Point." Marked by funky keys and a groovalicious vibe, ...

Album Review

Mindaugas Stumbras: Inspirations

Read "Inspirations" reviewed by Vitalijus Gailius

by Vitalijus Gailius
May 7, 2021

Mindaugas Stumbras is a leading jazz guitarist of Lithuanian scene who has much of potential to be broadly acclaimed by international community. He graduated from Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow in 2019, and he has already played and toured internationally not only with the well known Lithuanian fusion jazz band Brave Noises, but also with such names as MENT4L feat. Seamus Blake, Fergus McCreadie, Michelangelo Scandroglio, Kenneth Dahl Knudsen, Kenny Wollesen, Luis Bonilla and JM Jazz World ...