Doudi Jazz Band

The Doudi Jazz Band has earned a reputation as one of the best performers of traditional jazz in Lithuania. They perform with a good grip on different jazz styles, demonstrating precision and expertise in their interpretations as well as artistic flair on stage. The group started out almost three decades ago as part of the Klaipėda Dixieland (leader Pranas Narušis). After some years of playing Dixieland music, the band switched to swing and changed its name to the Memel Swingers. In 1996, this group has developed into a present five-piece Doudi Jazz Band (its locally specific name means "the band that gives jazz" in Western Lithuanian dialect). All five members of the Doudi Jazz Band are experienced jazz masters and charming personalities who combine their artistic careers with teaching at the Klaipėda University (Jazz Department of the Art Faculty). The band has initiated Klaipėda Dixieland Festival, which grew into Klaipėda Castle Jazz Festival, one of the foremost jazz events in Lithuania.

Jūratė Kučinskaitė