Vytautas Labutis (1960), like many Lithuanian jazz musicians, began his musical journey with the accordion at the B. Dvarionas Music
School in Vilnius. He later studied saxophone and jazz improvisation under Vladimir Chekasin. Labutis made his debut in 1982 with
the Petras Vyšniauskas Quartet at the Birštonas Jazz Festival.Throughout his career, he has performed across almost all of Europe, as
well as in the United States (at the Ford Montreux Jazz Festival in Detroit), Australia, and Asia, participating in jazz festivals in China
and India. Labutis is a highly versatile musician—a distinctive improviser, performer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist, as well as a
bandleader.
From 1982 to 1988, he was a member of the P. Vyšniauskas Quartet, and since 1987, he has been part of V. Chekasin’s Quartet, which
gained significant recognition in Western Europe. In 1988, he became the leader of the V. Labutis Trio, and since 1995, he has played
with the quintet “Džiazo Nublokšti”. In 1997, he formed an octet, with which he recorded his first solo album, “Terra Vandetuja”. His
project “Orkestretto” was performed at the Kaunas Jazz Festival in 2002. Labutis has played with most of Lithuania’s leading jazz musicians
and ensembles, including Vladimir Tarasov’s “Lithuanian Art Orchestra”, the Lithuanian Young Composers Orchestra, the Vilnius
Jazz Quartet, the Dainius Pulauskas Sextet, and the Kaunas Big Band. For ten consecutive years, he was a member of the prestigious
Jazz Baltica Ensemble, performing alongside jazz greats such as David Murray, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Maria Schneider, and
Django Bates. He has also participated in numerous international projects, including “Octet Ost III”, “East-West Vapirov Project”, “New
European Saxophone Quartet”, as well as co-authored performances with the St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra, such as “Pokalbių
ratas” (Circle of Conversations) and “Night in Tunisia”. His collaborations extend to projects like “Bio Jazz” with Oleg Molokoedov, “Sutaras
+ Vilnius Jazz Quartet” (2003), the Italy-Lithuania Quartet (Pellegrini, Iena, Labutis, Kanevičius, 2009), and the Silent Blast youth
jazz ensemble.
Beyond jazz, Labutis has performed contemporary academic music, participated in performance art, and worked extensively in music
for theater and film. He has been awarded the Grand Prix at the Birštonas Jazz Festival (1996) and was the winner of “Blues Marathon
2002” in Kaunas. From 2000 to 2002, he taught at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. As an actor, he has appeared in
several films, including Taxi Blues (dir. Pavel Lungin), It Snows in Paradise, and The Owl Mountain (dir. Audrius Juzėnas). Labutis is also
a dedicated educator at the B. Dvarionas Music School in Vilnius, with several of his students successfully continuing their studies at
leading European and U.S. jazz schools.
Currently, V. Labutis leads his own musical projects and is an active member of several ensembles, including All Reeds Duo, the trio
“Neda/Banys/Labutis”, “Haruspic”, “Emeritus Jazz Quartet”, and “Šinkarenko Jazz 5”. He also collaborates with numerous Lithuanian
musicians, such as V. Chekasin, Vladimir Tarasov, Eugenijus Kanevičius, Rokas Zubovas, Arkady Gotesman, Artūras Anusauskas, Donatas
Bielkauskas. In addition, he composes and performs music in poetry and music performances with actors Dalia Jankauskaitė,
Paulius Ganusauskas, and poet Gytis Norvilas.
In 2025, V. Labutis received the “Vilnius Jazz” festival award for his contributions to Lithuanian jazz culture.
Labutis’ discography includes three albums as leader and contributions to over 50 albums as a co-author, performer, or music producer.