Viktorija Gečytė & Gene Perla Quartet

Viktorija Gečytė & Gene Perla Quartet Jazz For Today “She’s a class act” - Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival, UK

“Good show doesn’t really begin to cover it - it was awesome! The response from our audience was unanimously positive and the reviews were glowing” – Executive Director, Miller Symphony Hall, USA “Anniversary Tour” 2018

Lithuanian singer Viktorija Gečytė and American bassist Gene Perla have been enchanting audiences for the past 10 years, touring the US and Europe. Their music springs from the Great American Songbook, including jazz standards, original compositions, and rarely performed musical gems.

Their upcoming 10th annual tour will take place in the United States and Europe from May through July 2018. About Viktorija Gečytė

Viktorija Gečytė (pronounced victoria get- cheet-ay) started her singing career as a child television star in her native Lithuania.

After graduating from Lafayette College in the United States, she settled down in Paris where she performs regularly at jazz clubs and festivals.

Elegant, swinging and sophisticated beyond her years, Gečytė bears comparison with the greats. She has great phrasing, impeccable timing, a low velvet voice with smoky hues, and hits every note on the button.

Website - Facebook - YouTube “Why is Viktorija a unique singer? First, for the rarity of her voice: the subtle, warm lows, nuanced by a thousand of inﬂections. Also, for her swing, carried by an infallible time. And ﬁnally, for her sure taste that comes out in her scat (never redundant, never overworked, how many singers can say that much?) and the choice of her repertoire” - Jazz Magazine, France “Gecyte is among the most exciting vocalists who have come to my attention in recent years. Her dark alto is expressive, her phrasing very individual and interesting, and she simply swings” - Jersey Jazz, USA

“Singers come and go. The lovely Viktorija Gecyte will hopefully stay with us for a long time” - Jazz ’n’ More, Switzerland

“A good measure of her achievements between Vilnius, Paris and New York is the authority that emerges from her art, an infallible vocal placement, a subtle and sensitive swing articulated through a warm, silky voice” - CultureJazz, France

About Gene Perla

Gene Perla has recorded and/or performed with Nina Simone, Sarah Vaughan, Carlos “Patato” Valdes, Sonny Rollins, Thad Jones/ Mel Lewis Orchestra and Stone Alliance.

His most productive association was with Elvin Jones, with no fewer than eleven albums, most of them on Blue Note.

Perla’s own P.M. Records label has been producing top notch artists since 1971. He is also a professor of music business at Lehigh University and The New School for Jazz in New York City.

Website - Facebook - Twitter Gene Perla with Elvin Jones Gene Perla with Don Alias

GENE PERLA VIDEOS WITH:

Elvin Jones

Nina Simone

Sonny Rollins

Gene Perla with Nina Simone "New Light"

Gene Perla with Sarah Vaughan and Jimmy Cobb “Gene Perla is a true composer. Talk about writing with an understanding of harmony, voice leading, and root movement!” - Adam Niewood, saxophonist

“Who are the main inﬂuences on your electric bass playing?” “I really love Jaco and Gene Perla.” - Esperanza Spalding, bassist

“All killer - no ﬁller.” - ICON Magazine, USA Returning Success

Once presenters experience Viktorija Gečytė’s artistry, they clamor to arrange return engagements.

For example, Miller Symphony Hall, one of the premier venues in eastern Pennsylvania, has once again booked her in 2018 for the 5th consecutive year, and their Jazz Committee presents only 12 concerts each year.

“It was an evening of ease and style, as Viktorija and trio turned out one classic tune after another with extraordinary skill and beauty. Viktorija is an assured professional with stage presence and class” – Executive Director, Miller Symphony Hall, USA Videos Audio Albums Together

The stage has long been Viktorija Gečytė’s home away from home. She premiered in public at age 5 in her native Lithuania and was regularly featured on TV for many years. Her fondness for jazz comes from her father, and her love of singing from her mother, an award-winning chef who comes from a long line of passionate traditional vocalists.

During high school, Gečytė schooled herself in global jazz, hitchhiking to music festivals around Lithuania. After securing a scholarship from Lafayette College in Pennsylvania, she explored the New York area jazz clubs and much more of America during her 3,800-mile cross-country bicycle trip.

In 2008, she settled down in Paris and, until recently, worked as a communications specialist by day and a jazz singer by night, exercising her different talents and finding fulfilment in both professional and artistic worlds.

In 2015, she released her first album, Blue Lake, a tribute to her Lithuanian roots and lake-dotted landscapes, interweaving jazz, classical and folk music, with songs in her native tongue. Blue Lake was an ambitious big band project that she co-wrote, as lyricist and composer, with the French pianist Julien Coriatt for his Julien Coriatt Orchestra.

In 2016, Gečytė released her second album, No Detour Ahead, born out of her long-time collaboration with the American bassist Gene Perla. Every year since 2008, Gečytė and Perla have traveled and toured, performing in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Paris, Edinburgh, Vilnius and other corners of the world.

ViktorijaGecyte.com - Facebook.com/ViktorijaGecyteMusic - YouTube.com/c/ViktorijaGecyte Gene Perla - Biography

Gene Perla was raised in New Jersey where he studied classical piano and trombone. After attending Berklee School of Music he moved to New York and began his musical career as a jazz bassist.

He has performed and/or recorded with Chick Corea, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Herman, Elvin Jones, Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, Chuck Mangione, Joni Mitchell, Buddy Rich, Sonny Rollins, Nina Simone, Frank Sinatra, Stone Alliance, Sarah Vaughan, Nancy Wilson, and others.

In the early 1970's he formed music publishing and record companies, and his group “Stone Alliance” (with saxophonist Steve Grossman and percussionist Don Alias) traveled to South America and Europe which gave him experience in management and booking. Other efforts include Broadway sound design (Tony Award for “City of Angels”), and recording studio operations.

He is currently playing his basses, producing records, running an Internet design and hosting company, is Webmaster for the Jazz Education Network, and teaching music business and other subjects at Lehigh University and The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City.

His musical performance activities continue with the wonderful vocalist Viktorija Gečytė and his groups “New Light” (with saxophonist David Liebman and drummer Adam Nussbaum), “Fine Wine Trio,” “Go Trio,” “Axiom Jump,” “Funk Xpress,” “FleetWing,” and the new “The Gene Machine Quintet.” Perla.org - PMRecords.com - Facebook.com/GenePerlaFanPage - Twitter.com/GenePerla Downloads

Download promotional materials (photos, mp3’s) Contacts

Melissa Mulligan

Artist Representative

[email protected]

+1 (917) 900 7321