City Jazz Riga jazz school big band (Latvia)
is led by saxophonist and composer, Latvian Radio Big Band leader and artistic director Karlis Vanags; saxophonist and Latvian Radio Big Band CEO Davis Jurka; and trombonist, Latvian Radio Big Band musician Kar¶is Alfreds Feldbergs. 

Special guests: singers Jete Rebeka Strazdina and Marks Vilenskis.

The concert program features compositions and arrangements by iconic jazz composers (Frank Sinatra, Toots Thielmanns, Count Basie, Quincy Jones, Thad Jones, etc.), showing the energetic and colourful sound of the jazz big band in its fullness.

City Jazz Riga jazz school offers music enthusiasts, regardless their level of preparation, a training program that includes playing in a jazz big band, as well as learning improvisation and music theory.

"The training program was created in 2010 to promote the development of jazz music in Latvia. Since then it has been possible to create a practical teaching system that covers all the necessary knowledge and, in a relatively short time, allows its members fully express themselves in the genre of jazz music. Several former members of the jazz school continue their careers as professional musicians. It is the proof that our system really works," says the founder of the jazz school, Karlis Vanags.

Any interested person with basic skills in playing the saxophone, trumpet, trombone, guitar, piano, bass or drums can join the jazz school team.

Big Band Tartu 
brings since 1998 together active people with a keen interest in music who, even though they are professionally engaged in a variety of fields from marine biology and landscape design to music-teaching and financial management, have a sincere desire to perform and present relaxing jazz music in Tartu and beyond.

Almost 25 years of making music, the orchestra has given a number of concerts and performed at many festivals in Estonia (the Viljandi Folk Music Festival, Student Jazz, Tabasalu Big Band Fest, Rainbow Jazz, Võsu Viis, Mürtsub Pill and more), Finland (Tampere 2015, Imatra Big Band Festival 2014 and 2022, Turun Taiteiden Yö 2010 and Lahden Jazzitori 2010), Latvia and Lithuania (Vilnius Band 2003 and Trakai Fanfare Week 2009). 2016 we participated in Netherlands, Hoofddorp in Corendon MeerJazz 20th International Big Band Competition and took from there the 3rd place in 1st class (candidates over 200 bands). Big Band Tartu performs at an average of 20-30 concerts, dance evenings and other events each year. For more information on the band and its recordings and history, see http://www.convivo.ee/.

In our 26th season, we concentrate to Norwegian music, because the cooperation between the European capitals of culture Tartu 2024 and Bodø 2024 has also reached the grassroots and orchestras of the cities. That's why we also have Roger Johansen, a jazz drummer, composer, conductor of the Bodø Big Band and organizer of the Open Jazz Bodø jazz festival, both with his own compositions and other great music.

Tartu Sax Choir 
was born on the initiative of maestro Lembit Saarsalu and with the modest help of the Salvador Sax Quartet in January 2003, when on the occasion of Lembit Saarsalu's 55th birthday, all the halls of the Estonian Concert were toured. The choir is trying to deepen the passion for playing the saxophone, especially among young players, so that even after 120 years, playing the saxophone will appeal to young people as an enjoyable alternative. As a result of the work done, several nice neck-wearing saxophone ensembles have started in Tartu, and listeners and players have been infected with enthusiasm, both in their home country of Estonia and behind the track.