Baltic Nova Collective

The Brazilian musical calling has manifested itself in the Baltics through The Baltic Nova Collective. Based in Riga with roots stretching through time and Latinspace, The Baltic Nova Collective’s music is an ambient spiritual interpretation of the music of Tom Jobim with influences from the Lettо Hispanic Afro-American Jazz tradition.

Deniss Pashkevich: woodwinds…

Yolanta Gulbe: ‘The voice from Latvia’
Celebrity and diva, Yolanta Gulbe is the most requested and flamboyant vocalist in Latvia. With her strong, colorful voice, and spiritual compass, Yolanta brings out the nuances from any song she interprets. Because of these qualities, Yolanta has been a magnet for performances with such world class musicians as Villu Veski (Estonia), Sebastian Studnitzky (Germany), Gianni Bardaro (Italy), Jukka Eskola (Finland), Erling Wiklund (Norway), Karl Martin Almquist (Sweden) and Neff Irizarry (USA/Puerto-Rico). Yolanta’s artistry has graced such venues and international Jazz Festivals as Quasimodo (Berlin), Jazz philharmonic Hall (St Petersburg, Russia), Jazz House (Copenhagen), Fasching Jazz Club (Stockholm), and Birstonas Jazz Festival (Lithuania).

Neff Irizarry: guitars…
Puerto-Rican guitarist Neff Irizarry’s (b.1973) daring, fresh and exploring take on Contemporary Jazz with a strong Latin tinge has been hailed by such names as Steve Khan, Jimmy Haslip (The Yellowjackets) and Paquito D’Rivera, and can be heard on his debut CD “Nepenthe” (produced by Haslip), firing away his distinctive fusion of Coltrane-influence hard bop and pianistic montunos. The opening track Despedidas is even included in the first-ever European Real Book, a collection of the best European jazz compositions by Sher Music.
Hailing from the Boston jazz scene and Berklee College of Music (his alma mater), over the years Neff has been collaborating and performing with renowned artists in a wide range of styles, such as Eddie Henderson, Randy Brecker, Azymuth, Giovanni Hidalgo, Marc Quiñones, Bobby Allende, Jeff Lorber, Robin Jones, Snowboy, Evan Price (of Turtle Island Quartet), Antonio Sanchez (of Pat Metheny Group), Leslie Lopez (New Cool Collective and Bombacó), Singer/songwriter Douglas Pashley, Mr Gone, Afroelements, Deniss Pashkevich and Riga Groove Electro and Irish Singer/songwriter Stefan Hanvey.