KARLIS VANAGS

B. 1984, Jan 1, Riga, Latvia. 

Kārlis Vanags – saxophonist, composer, arranger, big band leader, music educator, and artistic director of the Latvian Radio Big Band.

He began his career as a big band leader in 2007, founding the City Jazz Big Band. In 2012, the band released its debut album Introducing The Band, which received the Latvian Annual Music Recording Award in the category “Best Jazz Album.” As a saxophonist, he is actively involved in the Kārlis Vanags Trio, Silvesteri Orkesteri, Souls Jazz Society, and Raimonds Macats’ quintet RM5 — the latter winning the Latvian Music Recording of the Year Award Zelta Mikrofons 2015 in the category “Best Jazz Album.”

As artistic director, musician, composer, and producer, he has contributed to recordings by the Latvian Radio Big Band, including Mare Balticum with James Morrison; Latvian Jazz Suite; R. Pauls | Opera, featuring maestro Raimonds Pauls and the string section of the Latvian State Chamber Orchestra Sinfonietta Riga; as well as to the album Big Band Minimalism by Swedish composer, arranger, and musician Mats Holmquist, and the album Baltic Waves by Swedish trumpet legend Lasse Lindgren. In 2018, he served as composer and musical director of the EBU (Euro Radio) Jazz Orchestra.

As arranger, saxophonist, and big band section leader, he also took part in the project Zemgales Gredzens | Film Concert “In the Floods of History”, which received the Latvian Grand Music Award in the category “Performance of the Year” in 2018.

He has collaborated on various projects with Kurt Elling (USA), Roberta Gambarini (Italy), Randy Brecker (USA), Jojo Mayer (Switzerland), New York Voices (USA), Marius Neset (Norway), Mats Holmquist (Sweden), Diane Schuur (USA), China Moses (France), Allan Harris (USA), Nils Landgren (Sweden), Jiggs Whigham (USA), Seamus Blake (USA), Richard Bona (USA), Pierre Bertrand (France), and others.

He is the author of around 200 compositions and arrangements, including works for chamber ensembles (trio, quintet), as well as for big band and symphony orchestra.

Kārlis Vanags is a lecturer in the Jazz Department of the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music and runs his own private educational program, Jazz Big Band School at www.cityjazzriga.lv. 

Active composer, arranger, saxophone player in Karlis Vanags Trio, Raimonds Macats Quintet,  Soul Jazz Society, Silvesteri Orkesteri. 

Freely plays saxophpones, piano, clarinet, EWI and flute.

Awards: 

* zelta mikrofoni, lielā mūzikas balva, utml?