Up to now a CD of jazz standards was quite a rare phenomenon in Lithuanian jazzmen’s discography, therefore „Solos & Duos“ is a pleasant presence. The music on this album does not oblige you to listen attentively, but if you try carefully, you will not regret it. Virtuoso passages flow freely, without any apparent effort, the pianist and the trumpeter improvise lightly, gracefully, and especially precisely, without any slip towards salon music. Twelve pieces are recorded in this album, three of which are played solo by E. Buozis, or others including V.Ramoska. These pieces are well-known topics of famous Americans, however, the exclusive sympathies of the pianist and producer (both by E. Buozis) are revealed by the two Chick Corea pieces ('Spain' and 'La Fiesta'). Harmonious unity of opposites is characteristic of the album: for some listeners the performance of the duo will create the atmosphere of a concert hall, while others will find themselves in a predawn smoke-filled club. Anyway, so far we have never heard such rich and soft-sounding grand piano in the albums of our jazzmen. It is a great contribution of Giedrius Litvinas.

Music
Sound

"The musical performance of E. Buozis and V. Ramoska lets us feel the variety of the styles of jazz coryphaeus as well as convinces us of the virtuosity and subtle aesthetic taste. The tones of beautiful timbre and sensitively felt interpretation of jazz masterpieces let us go down under the melancholy awakening reminiscences as well as playful burlesques of roguish humor and a fiesta full of hot temperament. The improvisations of E. Buozis and V. Ramoska distinguish themselves among others by elegant and sensitive manner of performance, turning this wonderful trend of music into the expression of intimate and always personal world. The CD "Solos and Duos" will significantly supplement collections of jazz lovers and become a valuable page of Lithuanian jazz discography".

"While listening to the CD one can notice a wide variety of the sound. E. Buozis is revealing himself as a great aesthete favouring a subtle pedal and different registers ("Spain"). He is regulating and controling the colour and volume of the sound to the smallest notes ("Blue in Green", "Spain"). We can see that the quality of the recording is also of a great importance as only then the selected compositions sparkle with the desired colours. He is followed by V. Ramoska (trumpet) using the trumpet mute, the trumpeter's arsenal ("Chicken Feathers"), and flugelhorn of a softer sound. The aesthetics of the sound, tastefulness, variety of the harmony and classical form "theme-improvisation-theme" is a calling card of the two performers".

"Beautiful, subtle, tasteful, technical."

It is the first solo CD by Egidijus Buozis and it could be talked about from two points of view: either as about the likings and preferences as well as the reflection of the creative "kitchen" (however, very professional and soigné) of this pianist, composer and music arranger, or as about some sort of "anticommercial" phenomenon in the context of Lithuanian jazz and entertainment music. Namely the latter factor distinguishes Egidijus' CD from a number of other releases of that year. In this first Egidijus' CD, there is already established that stylistic purposefulness and thorough finish, maybe even perfectionism, which is characteristic of his singles which have been on radio and TV broadcasts in the later years, but which are still unpublished. Yes, undoubtedly - this CD is primarily aimed at an intellectual audience. It looks like the team that realised the idea was exactly of such kind, but what is most important - they share with Egidijus the same ideas and a liking for jazzy-pop style. They are Irena Starosaitė and Stepas Januska (vocals), Linas Rimsa (music arranger) and Giedrius Litvinas (sound engineer). That is the reason why this CD seems to be very solid regarding its style and composition. I think that this CD as an "anticommercial" phenomenon has not lost its importance yet. So, turn on the player and stay in "Town of Love" for a while…