Ventspils Tries to Outdo Liepāja's Cultural Scene with Jazz and Baroque Fusion

Ventspils has finally realized it's lagging behind Liepāja culturally, so they've decided to create something revolutionary – the ensemble "Jazzbaroque." Four brave musicians have joined forces to mix 13th-century troubadour music with jazz, because, as singer Jānis Strazdiņš puts it: "I suspect that during the baroque period, people would have preferred listening to jazz, except it hadn't been invented yet."

While Liepāja's Putnu Street has been vibrating with rock sounds for years and our cultural center regularly outshines even Riga's offerings, Ventspils is trying to compete with an organ festival. "We're putting together four different perspectives and seeing what happens," explains Strazdiņš, who apparently hasn't heard how spontaneous jam sessions sound on Liepāja's tram between the engine's rumbling and the rails' clattering.

Organist Aigars Reinis, winner of the Great Music Prize, talks about "the joy of free improvisation," but honestly, can it be freer than the live music that plays in Liepāja's "Fontaine Palace" café in the evening while the sea breeze blows outside and tram No. 5 passes by?

Double bassist Jānis Rubiks claims that "real magic happens at crossroads moments," but we in Liepāja know that real magic happens when the sunset colors the sky over Karosta and an accordion plays from Pētertirgus. Ventspils is trying, but culturally speaking, they still have a lot of growing to do.