Jazz, blues and country meet Latvian melodiousness and contemporary classical composition in Matīss Čudars Trio.

Led by Latvian guitarist and composer Matīss Čudars, a composition graduate of the Yale School of Music currently partly based in New York City, with Edvīns Ozols on double bass and Ivars Arutyunyan on drums, the trio moves freely between carefully shaped compositions and spontaneous interplay. Their music combines lyrical melodies with intricate rhythms, drawing inspiration from Latvian folk and choral traditions as well as African music and math-rock.

With a background spanning jazz guitar, composition and improvisation, Čudars brings a composer’s sense of form into the freedom of a jazz trio. His musical path—from studying jazz guitar at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam to writing orchestral and chamber music—gives the trio much of its distinctive character.

The trio’s debut album, Take Your Time, released by Jersika Records in 2023, unfolds through memorable melodies, unexpected rhythmic turns and moments of both intimacy and intensity. Their second album is set for release in April 2027, marking the trio’s next chapter.

Even before the album’s release, the trio gained major recognition for its live performance. Their 2022 concert Melodiskais avangards (“Melodic Avant-Garde”) in Riga received the Latvian Grand Music Award for Concert of the Year—a title that captures the trio’s musical identity: adventurous, searching music that never loses its connection to melody, warmth and the pleasure of listening.

Matīss Čudars — guitar, compositions

Edvīns Ozols — double bass

Ivars Arutyunyan — drums

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Matīss Čudars Trio