Biography
The band “Twin Town” was formed at the beginning of year 2006, and it includes the best musicians that can be found in the new Latvian jazz generation. The founder of the band is one of the best Ukrainian-origin drummers and percussionists in the Eastern Europe – Alexandr “Shultc” Merzlikin, who has worked with many well-known artists not only from the Baltic States ( Intars Busulis, Janis Stibelis, Marija Naumova, Deniss Pashkevics, Raimonds Macats), but also with famous artists all over the world but all over the world (Brian Melvin, Stanley Jordan, Simone Moreno, Nic Gotham, Alexandr Murenko and others). If originally the style of the band was inclined to groove jazz (acid jazz, electro funky jazz), then after a certain time the musical direction of the band changed, revealing to others and in a way to the musicians of the band themselves, the picturesque language of music and the enchantment of the spontanity and improvisation, as well as original compositions. Thus the style of the band could be defined as fusion, modern jazz,funk. The rest participants of the band are : Kristaps Vanadzins – key-player, composer and arranger. He has taken part in several festivals in the Baltic States and other places in Europe. He is also the owner of Grand Prix at the competition “Sony Jazz Stage” nomination of piano. Edvins Ozols – bass-guitar player with a very original perception of music. His style of playing could be called as groove, energy and cosmic flight. He also plays in “Jelgavas BigBand” and works as a couch for the new musicians. Maris Jekabsons – tenor and soprano saxophone player, composer, couch, one of the Latvian pioneers of funk, acid jazz and rhytm&blues.
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.