Vytis Nivinskas

Associate Professor at the LMTA Jazz Department, Dr.

E-mail: vytis.nivinskas@lmta.lt

Vytis Nivinskas – jazz bassist, associate professor, doctor of arts, researcher. At first Vytis has studied music privately, later fascinated with jazz he traded studies of philosophy at Vilnius University to double bass studies at Vilnius Conservatoire. From 1996 to 2000 he has studied at Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (LMTA). After local music studies he continued abroad – in 2000 at Det Fynske Konservatorium in Odense, Denmark and from 2001 to 2003 master studies at DePaul University in Chicago, USA. In 2022 he completed PhD at Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre under the supervision of prof. Anders Jormin and prof. Rūta Stanevičiūtė. He was one of co-founders of Baltic Asteroids, Riot, Saga, Baisios Stygos, Užribis and CinAmono bands, Coltrane Impressions and Strange Doors projects. He has participated in various music projects in twenty countries with Giedrė & Jazz Miniatures, Outside In Trio, Trapeze, Baked Beans, K. Wollesen, L. “Butch” Morris, D. Naujokaitis, P. Vyšniauskas, V. Chekasin, J. Maksimowicz, A. Gotesman, L. Mockūnas, V. Tarasov, O. Molokojedov, A. Anusauskas, A. Šlaustas, V. Mikeliūnas, D. Stalmokas, R. Rančys, Milky Lasers, Jurga, Baltic Guitar Quartet, G. Storpirštis. He has also colloborated with different kind of artists including Low Air urban dance theatre, Psilicone theatre, dancer L. Juodkaitė, actor/singer B. Bublytė, OKT and Youth Theatre actors, poet K. Navakas, A. Šarapovas and many more. In 2025 he has recorded double bass solo album Rituals and Transformations released by NoBusiness Records.

Since 2005 Vytis is on the faculty of LMTA. He was on the board of Lithuanian Jazz Federation from 2007 to 2024. During 2023/2024 season Vytis was art director of Muzikos Magijos club in Vilnius. In 2025 he became BAFF scholarship recipient and as visiting scholar at University of California in San Diego has started research Innovative double bass techniques in solo improvisation: methodologies of sound creation and performance under supervision of Prof. Mark Dresser (US). His academic and scientific interests are creative experiments with double bass in jazz music. As a researcher, he took part in five artistic research conferences (Rhythm changes: Jazz Journeys, Graz, 2019; LMTA Annual, Vilnius 2020, 2021; Principles of Music Composing, Vilnius, 2021; Rhythm changes: Jazz Then & Now, Amsterdam, 2022).