Jelgavas Big Band

Jelgava’s Big Band is one of Latvian jazz music’s fundamental values — the union of professional musicians with history and traditions since 1990. From the beginning and up to this day, the art director and conductor of it has been Raitis Ašmanis, and under his leadership, the band mainly performs jazz standards and music of famous Latvian and foreign composers. Jelgava’s big band regularly has performed in various Latvian cities and toured all over the world, participated in many competitions, Christmas productions of the Latvian National Theatre, and Raimonds Pauls’s program «The Dream about Broadway». The big band has also participated in various TV broadcasts and shows and has worked together with almost all Latvian jazz and popular music artists. In 2007 Jelgava’s Big Band released an album, recorded with R. Pauls, I. Busulis, I. Kerēvica, O. Pīrāgs, and L. Rācenājs.