Bassist, Producer, Editor, Arranger & Educator
B i o
New York City-based internationally renowned and multi-awarded Latvian jazz bassist, producer, arranger, editor, and educator Maksim Perepelica is one of the brightest musical talents in his country as well as far away from its borders. He is a true artist with a unique vision and understanding of music, deep knowledge of jazz idiom, big sound, and a solid rhythmic feel. He is one of the finest bassist on the scene whose passion and dedication to music has brought him over three continents including Europe, Australia, and the United States, where he has performed at some of the biggest festivals, venues, and concert halls, appeared in various TV and Radio programs, won multiple international jazz and independent competitions, played and recorded with some of the most sought-after musicians in from around the world: Steve Wilson, Alex Sipiagin, Valery Ponomarev, Manuel Valera, Edsel Gomez, Bobby Sanabria, Ron Jackson, Shai Maestro, Troy Roberts, Seamus Blake, Berta Moreno, Alina Engibaryan, Samvel Sarkisyan, Oscar Feldman, Jason Rigby, Silvano Monasterios, Leonid Ptashka, Taber Gable, Raphael Pannier, Kelly Green, Flavio Silva, Willerm Delisfort, Jordan Pettay, Franco Pina, Alana Sinkey, Debborah Ayo, Naima Acuña, Yaacov Mayman, Aleksandra Mogilevich, Grace Garland, Ilona Kudina, Maxim Lubarsky, Edmar Castañeda, Gabriel Grossi, Park Stickney, Deborah Henson-Conant, Maeve Gilchrist, Rossitza Milevska, Benjamin Herman, Ilja Reijngoud, Peter Beets, Simon Rigter, Johan Clement, Miguel Rodriguez, Jun Hyung An, Melissa Oliveira, Tuur Moens, Thomas Maasz, Juanma Barroso, Ruven Ruppik, Abel Marcel, Alex Correa, Viktorija Pilatovic, David Sancho, Jorge Vistel, Miguel Benito, Jorge Castañeda, Dani Juarez, Kestutis Vaiginis, Leonardas Pilkauskas, Viktors Ritovs, Toms Rudzinskis, Ivars Arutunyans, Arta, Jekabsone, Kaspars Kurdeko, Simona Smirnova, and MTV EMA-winning band "Happyendless", among many others.
Perepelica has been performing in some of the most important venues in the New York, such as Blue Note Jazz Club, David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center, Instituto Cervantes, Minton's Playhouse, Club Bonafide, ShapeShifter Lab, Joe's Pub, Fat Cat, Luca's Jazz Corner, Made In NY Jazz Club, Terraza 7, The Kosciuszko Foundation, American Theatre of Actors, The City College of New York, The Master Theater, Rockwood Music Hall, Queens Library, The Lexington Hotel, Tomi Jazz, Silvana, The Shrine, Williamsburg Music Center, Nuyorican Poets Cafe, Cafe Vivaldi, Cleopatra's Needle, The Hudson River Museum Amphitheater, The Blue Door Art Gallery, Dwyer Cultural Center, The Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center among others, as well as globally at Foundry 616 (Australia), Ellington Jazz Club (Australia), Paris Cat Jazz Club (Australia), MONA (Australia), Launceston Jazz Club (Australia), The Byron Theatre (Australia), Sala Clamores (Spain), Jimmy Glass (Spain), Circulo de Bellas Artes (Spain), Jamboree Jazz Club (Spain), Bilbana Jazz Club (Spain), Recoletos Jazz Club (Spain), Bogui Jazz Club (Spain), Club Matador (Spain), Espacio Turina (Spain), Taller De Musicos de Gijon (Spain), The Music Village (Belgium), De Doelen (Netherlands), Theater Rotterdam Schouwburg (Netherlands), Bird Rotterdam (Netherlands), Dizzy's (Netherlands), Bethany's Club (Netherlands), Badcuyp (Netherlands), Jazz Cellar 11 (Lithuania), Punto Jazz Club (Lithuania), Saule Concert Hall (Lithuania), Kaunas Philharmonic Hall (Lithuania), Pashkevich Jazz Club (Latvia), Great Amber Concert Hall (Latvia), Juras Varti Concert Hall (Latvia), Ventspils Cultural Center (Latvia), Sala cu Orga (Moldova), Palatul National (Moldova), and many more.
He also performed in multiple international jazz and live music festivals: Jazzaldia Jazz Festival (San Sebastian, Spain), Canarias Jazz y Mas Festival (Spain), Burgos Jazz Festival (Spain), Barco de Avila Jazz Festival (Spain), Devonport Jazz Festival (Devonport, Australia), Babel Med Music Fest (Marseille, France), North Sea Round Town (Netherlands), Leiden Jazz Festival (Netherlands), Dordrecht Jazz Festival (Netherlands), Zoetermeer Jazz Festival (Netherlands), Jazz an de Gracht Festival (Netherlands), Zommerterras Open Air Festival (Netherlands), Haarlem Jazz Festival (Netherlands), Kaunas Jazz (Lithuania), Vilnius Jazz (Lithuania), Klaipeda Castle Jazz Festival (Lithuania), Birstonas Jazz (Lithuania), Be2Gether (Lithuania), Tallinn Music Week (Estonia), Baltic Beach Party (Latvia), Martisor (Moldova), Regeneratorius (Lithuania), Ventspils Groove Festival and Ventspils City Festival (Latvia) among others.
Perepelica produced and recorded Spanish multi-awarded saxophonist and composer Berta Moreno's debut album "Little Steps," winning "The Global Music Awards" for the Best Album of 2017. "Little Steps" was also nominated for the prestigious Independent Music Awards and Spanish "Premios MIN." He also appeared in the globally renowned DownBeat Magazine as bassist and producer of the album.
Maksim's produced "The Beauty of the Slum" from Berta Moreno's album "Tumaini" won the Grand Prize and "Karibu" was the Finalist in the prestigious John Lennon Songwriting Contest, both in the Jazz category.
He is the winner of three international jazz competitions in the Netherlands: "Leidse Jazzaward 2011" with David Sancho Trio, "Dordtse Sena Jazz Prijs 2013" with The Hat Bangers, and "Zoetermeer Jazz Concours 2013" with Kind of Brown Quartet.
Maksim Perepelica regularly gives clinics and master classes worldwide specializing in Jazz and Latin bass, ensemble playing, and music production.
Born in the small Latvian town of Ventspils, Perepelica only discovered music in his teen ages. Enchanted by the rich and powerful sound of an electric bass he once tried to play in a small music store, he decided to take private lessons of bass, music theory, and ear training to transform his passion into a full-time career.
After graduating from secondary school and performing locally on various stages with an after-school music program band, Perepelica moved to Lithuania to study jazz at Klaipeda University and Lithuanian Music and Theater Academy in Vilnius and play music professionally. During five years spent in the neighboring country, he had become one of the busiest bassists in the Baltic area performing with MTV EMA-winning band "Happyendless," Evelina Sasenko's "Rendez-Vous," "Colder," Kestutis Vaiginis, Liudas Mockunas, Arturas Anusauskas, Vytautas Labutis, Andrej Polevikov, Paulius Zdanavicius, Darius Rudis, Augustas Baronas, Leonardas Pilkauskas, Giedrius Nakas, Laura Budreckyte, Daiva Starinskaite, Jurgis Bruzga, Egle Sirvydyte, Domantas Razauskas, and many others around the Baltics at various venues and international jazz and world music festivals.
Perepelica also appeared on the Lithuanian National TV and Radio, including the LRT-2 music program "Improvizaciju Aleja" with Egle Sirvydyte band; recorded and released popular singles with "Happyendless," "Colder," and Egle Sirvydyte; was a member of Lithuanian Jazz Federation.
While living in the Netherlands between 2009-2014, he had the honor of playing with some of the most in-demand Dutch jazz musicians, like Simon Righter, Bob Righter, Kris Goessens, Peter Beets, Benjamin Herman, Ilja Reijngoud, Bart van Lier, and Johan Clement among others. He appeared in Dutch TV and Radio music programs: RTV Rijnmond, "Virus," Omroep Zuidplas.
Perepelica has been a member of "IJHF" (International Jazz Harp Foundation), working and performing with the world-class jazz harpists-virtuosos: Edmar Castañeda, Park Stickney, Deborah Henson-Conant, Maeve Gilchrist, Rossitza Milevska, Sabine Meijers, Brenda Dor-Groot, and many others.