Arkady Gotesman (b. 1959) is one of the unsung heroes of European free jazz and free music, and clearly one of the most distinctive percussionists and improvisers in Lithuania. He was born in Ukraine (and his name is often spelt as Arkadijus Gotesmanas). From an early age, he decided that music would be not only his vocation but also his way of telling stories—personal, cultural, and universal. His professional career of more than 35 years encompasses contemporary music, local interdisciplinary theatre, dance, film, and poetry productions, klezmer music, collaborations with local heroes like Vyacheslav Ganelin, Vladimir Tarasov, Liudas Mockūnas, and Petras Vyšniauskas, as well as recorded albums with innovative improvisers such as Charles Gayle, Martin Küchen, Nate Wooley, and Barry Guy.
Music for an Imaginary Ballet (Muzika neegzistuojančiam baletui, which can also be translated as Music for Non-Existent Ballet) celebrates Gotesman’s creative legacy. It is based on his chamber solo percussion performance that reflects his entire creative path. The album is structured as a twelve-movement suite, or a musical diary that visits many collaborative, free improvised meetings, collecting pieces from 2000 to 2025, all recorded live around Lithuania.
The album begins and closes with short, evocative solo percussion pieces, “Stiklo Gabaliukai) (glass pieces), dedicated to the surrealist painter Marc Chagall. The powerful duet with Mockūnas, “It’s coming”, highlights Gutesman's qualities as a fearless, imaginative improviser who transforms every musical meeting into a singular, adventurous, and unpredictable journey, making it a boundless playground where he could explore rhythm, silence, sound, and texture with unlimited freedom. The pieces with Trio Alliance (Ganelin on piano and synth, and Vyšniauskas on reeds), and the one with quartet Emiritus (Vyšniauskas on reeds and piano, Vytautas Labutis on reeds and piano, and double bass player Eugenijus Kanevičus) stress Gutesman's precise textual touches, and the clever way he introduces a light groove. The duet with pianist Tomas Kutavičus explores both improvisers’ nuanced, rhythmic language.
The duet with Gayle (with whom Gotesman recorded the trio album Our Souls: Live In Vilnius, NoBusiness, 2009, with double bass player Dominic Duval) dives into spiritual, fiery free jazz. The duets with Nate Wooley (with whom Gotesman recorded Nox, NoBusiness, 2020, with Mockūnas and double bass master Barry Guy) and the one with Martin Küchen (with whom Gotesman recorded Live At Vilnius Jazz Festival, NoBusiness, 2016, with double bass player Mark Tokar) suggest two colourful but completely different stories - the first one is introspective and poetic, while the latter is restless and intense, but both are beautifully articulated by these resourceful improvisers-storytellers. The trio with Ned Rothenberg and double bass player Vladimir Volkov features Gotesman as a modern shaman conducting an uplifting rhythmic ritual.
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