One of Lithuania’s most prolific and important jazz bands, the Dainius Pulauskas Group (DPG) is currently in its third creative decade. During all this time, it has pursued a mission as an ambassador for Lithuanian jazz, presenting its distinctive and colourful version of fusion, which moulds together elements of musical traditions from a diverse range of countries, musical styles and directions, in various parts of the world. DPG plays exclusively compositions written by its leader, the pianist and composer Dainius Pulauskas, which express northern reserve and energetic fieriness, and which stand out with their skilful fusion of acoustic and electronic instruments, constructiveness and inspired improvisation.

The band, which has kept a stable core for over 20 years, is a kind of Lithuanian jazz dream team, its members being the most prominent jazz musicians in Lithuania. Alongside the original members (the trumpet player Valerijus Ramoška, the drummer Linas Būda, and the band leader, pianist and composer Dainius Pulauskas), the DPG is complemented by talented members of the younger generation (the bassist Domas Aleksa, Liutauras Janušaitis, a graduate of Berkeley College of Music, and Kęstutis Vaiginis, a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music), all of whom also have strong independent careers.

Following their debut at the Birštonas Jazz Festival in 1996 as the Dainius Pulauskas Sextet, the band took Lithuanian jazz by storm with its first album, felicitously entitled Penetration (1997), and in a short time it won international recognition. The Finnish jazz critic Risto Haapsamo referred to the band as a ‘forceful pulse of modern jazz’. As the structure of the band changed, it chose the more flexible name the Dainius Pulauskas Group in 2004.

Over two decades of active creative work, the group has performed in over 30 countries on four continents, and enjoyed rapturous ovations at more than 140 festivals. The creative output of the DPG has been documented on nine CDs, two concert DVDs, and a compilation released to mark its 20th anniversary. The DPG has won a Golden Disc from the Lithuanian Musicians’ Union, and in 2004 it won the Lithuanian Institute’s LT Identity award for promoting Lithuanian jazz.

One of Lithuania’s most prolific and important jazz bands, the Dainius Pulauskas Group (DPG) is currently in its third creative decade. During all this time, it has pursued a mission as an ambassador for Lithuanian jazz, presenting its distinctive and colourful version of fusion, which moulds together elements of musical traditions from a diverse range of countries, musical styles and directions, in various parts of the world. DPG plays exclusively compositions written by its leader, the pianist and composer Dainius Pulauskas, which express northern reserve and energetic fieriness, and which stand out with their skilful fusion of acoustic and electronic instruments, constructiveness and inspired improvisation.

The band, which has kept a stable core for over 20 years, is a kind of Lithuanian jazz dream team, its members being the most prominent jazz musicians in Lithuania. Alongside the original members (the trumpet player Valerijus Ramoška, the drummer Linas Būda, and the band leader, pianist and composer Dainius Pulauskas), the DPG is complemented by talented members of the younger generation (the bassist Domas Aleksa, Liutauras Janušaitis, a graduate of Berkeley College of Music, and Kęstutis Vaiginis, a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music), all of whom also have strong independent careers.

Following their debut at the Birštonas Jazz Festival in 1996 as the Dainius Pulauskas Sextet, the band took Lithuanian jazz by storm with its first album, felicitously entitled Penetration (1997), and in a short time it won international recognition. The Finnish jazz critic Risto Haapsamo referred to the band as a ‘forceful pulse of modern jazz’. As the structure of the band changed, it chose the more flexible name the Dainius Pulauskas Group in 2004.

Over two decades of active creative work, the group has performed in over 30 countries on four continents, and enjoyed rapturous ovations at more than 140 festivals. The creative output of the DPG has been documented on nine CDs, two concert DVDs, and a compilation released to mark its 20th anniversary. The DPG has won a Golden Disc from the Lithuanian Musicians’ Union, and in 2004 it won the Lithuanian Institute’s LT Identity award for promoting Lithuanian jazz.

www.mic.lt/lt/baze/dziazas/kompozitoriai-atlikejai/pulauskasgroup

Stream/download this: “Penetration”: www.pakartot.lt/album/the-best-of-20-years-2-cd