This quartet of an unusual line-up made its debut in 2024 at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival in England. On the initiative of saxophonist Liudas Mockūnas, the ensemble brings together lecturers from the Master’s program in Contemporary and Improvisational Music at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (L. Mockūnas and A. Mikalkėnas) and their former students. The formation embodies an uncompromising, intuitive dialogue between the four members, grounded in mutual understanding and shared both musical language and aesthetic.

The low-frequency vibrations of two tubas (such a tandem in a single project is a rarity), the extreme overtone runs of Mockūnas’ saxophone, the rigid structures of Mikalkėnas’ prepared piano and the pulsating rhythm of the percussion merge into distinctive, unpredictable soundscapes.

Liudas Mockūnas, a multi-instrumentalist, composer, band leader and teacher, is one of the most prominent figures in improvisational music in Europe and one of the most influential figures in Lithuanian jazz. The artist has been awarded prizes at international jazz competitions, as well as received awards for his musical creativity and contributions to Lithuanian jazz.

Mockūnas regularly performs across the European jazz scene alongside musicians from Scandinavia, the Baltic states, Poland, Portugal and other countries, and has toured with various ensembles in the USA, China, Japan and Israel. He has been collaborating with Carvalhais for more than 15 years.

The Lithuanian musician collaborates with Marc Ducret, Barry Guy, Mats Gustafsson, William Hooker, Mikko Innanen, Jaak Sooäär, all the leading figures of Lithuanian improvisational music, and numerous other coryphées. Composers of academic music write pieces for him; he performs as a soloist with symphony and chamber orchestras.

In 2016, Mockūnas, together with composer Vykintas Baltakas, established a Master’s degree program in contemporary academic and improvisational music at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, which brought a qualitatively new generation of improvisers and jazz composers to the jazz scene, and inspired a resurgence of improvisational music in Lithuania.

Together with like-minded musicians, he founded Improdimensija, a creative platform dedicated to improvisation, experimentation and education, as well as the independent record label NoBusiness Records, whose contributions to Lithuanian jazz have been recognised with the Vilnius Jazz award.

Simonas Kaupinis is one of the most prominent and versatile tuba players of the new generation in Lithuania, as well as jazz and free improvisation experts. He completed a bachelor’s degree in tuba and a master’s degree in contemporary music and improvisation at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, and undertook further studies through an exchange program at the Gioachino Rossini Conservatoire in Italy.

The performer’s approach to his instrument goes beyond the boundaries of expertise in classical tuba technique and sound expression. In his work, he expands the possibilities of the tuba by employing unconventional playing techniques and sonic experiments. The artist’s exceptional talents are showcased in a variety of improvisational, contemporary and alternative music projects. He regularly takes part in jazz and classical music festivals in Lithuania and abroad.

Kaupinis is a member of the Improdimensija orchestra, the bands Ferry Good Company (formerly Laivo troupe), Kanalizacija and dr. Green, as well as the contemporary music ensemble Synaesthesis and the Balkan and klezmer music collective Rakija Klezmer Orkestar. He also performs regularly in Lithuania and abroad with the improvisational trio Ąžuoliniai berželiai, with whom he has recorded five albums.

Simonas’ tuba performances often accompany the work of film and theatre director Karolis Kaupinis. Together with other representatives of jazz and experimental music, the tuba player takes part in his brother’s musical project Dainų šventė (Song Festival) and in the theatre production Lietuvių mirties pranešimai. Vieno spektaklio istorija (Obituaries of Lithuanians: The Story of a Single Play). He has recorded the soundtracks for K. Kaupinis’ film Badautojų namelis (Hunger Strike Breakfast) and his short films.

The musician has also tried his hand at presenting a radio programme on LRT OPUS akademija.

Mikas Kurtinaitis is a Lithuanian tuba player of the younger generation and a performer of contemporary and improvisational music. He is renowned for his innovative solo performances.

After completing his master’s degree in contemporary music and free improvisation at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, this virtuoso began to take an active interest in the possibilities for expanding the sound of the tuba, started appearing as the soloist on the contemporary and improvisational music scene and experimenting with unconventional methods of sound production and breathing techniques.

In 2023, he won the Vilnius Jazz Young Power competition and was named the best instrumentalist.

For over a decade, Mikas has been a member of the Balkan and klezmer music collective Rakija Klezmer Orkestar; he also works with The Honkin’ Dudes Brass Band, the Improdimensija orchestra, and experiments in a duo with flautist S. Kalvelytė and with the experimental music group Moose Tick Ensemble.

Arnas Mikalkėnas is one of the most active performers of free improvisation and jazz music in Lithuania; he is a pianist, percussionist, composer, teacher and band leader. In 2024, he was presented with the Vilnius Jazz award for his contribution to Lithuanian jazz.

This artist is one of the driving forces behind the Improdimensija movement and the Improdimensija orchestra; he plays an active role in the activities of the Improdimensija platform both as a performer and as a teacher.

The musician’s discography comprises over 20 albums, including five recorded with the improvisational music trio Ąžuoliniai berželiai. He has collaborated with numerous renowned improvisers – Yumiko Yoshimoto, Michael Moore, Santiago Quintans, Kresten Osgood, Anto Pett, Kenny Wollesen, Lasse Lindgren, Jérôme Fourrier, Ken McCann, Francesco Angiuli, Nuria Andorrà, Mikolaj Trzaska, David Stacken, Kirke Karja and others.

Mikalkėnas also plays in a trio with Liudas Mockūnas and the Norwegian drummer Haåkon Berre. He has performed in many European countries with various musical partners.
Arnas devotes a great deal of time to teaching – he lectures at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, the Juozas Gruodis Conservatoire in Kaunas and the Jazz Academy, which he founded with a colleague.