Remi Kazukauskas

Remi J. Edson is the artistic name of Lithuanian-born jazz flutist and composer Remigijus Kazukauskas. He is currently living and working as a freelance musician in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Closely connected to music throughout his life, Remi grew up surrounded by a wide range of artistic influences and creative possibilities. He received his professional music education at the Stasys Šimkus Conservatory (Klaipėda, Lithuania) and the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (Vilnius), and completed both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at the Utrecht Conservatory in the Netherlands.

In 2013, he was selected by the National Flute Association as one of three winners to perform in the Jazz Master Class of flutist Orlando Valle in New Orleans, USA. That same year, his own Jazz Quintet was chosen to represent the Utrecht Conservatory at the Conservatorium Talent Award competition during the Jazz in Duketown festival. In 2017, he was selected to perform with the NJO Jong Metropole Orchestra.

Since then, Remi has been an active presence in the Dutch music scene, collaborating with numerous renowned musicians and ensembles, including the Netherlands Flute Academy Orchestra, jazz fusion group Tyranni Flock, Ronald Snijders, Jeroen Pek, Gerardo Rosales, Lilian Vieira, André Groen, Juan Martinez, and the Kika Sprangers Large Ensemble, among many others.

Remi is the founder and artistic leader of the chamber jazz ensemble EDSON ENSEMBLE. Through original compositions, he explores a new musical environment for the jazz flute, blending the colourful textures of woodwinds and strings with the rich harmonies, rhythms, and improvisational language of jazz. After several years of artistic development, ensemble released it's debut album HYDRA in 2024, aiming to broaden the scope of chamber jazz within the Dutch jazz scene and beyond.

Since 2019, he has also been a member of the Netherlands Flute Octet “BlowUp!”. His most recent projects include collaborations with Lucy Woodward, Marmoucha Orchestra, Team Orkesterra, and the Celebration Jazz Orchestra led by Axel Hagen.

"Since the beginning of 2019, with support of The Netherlands Musical Instrument Foundation, I am able to rent Eva Kingma's alto flute, with which I have more posibilities in color, gives me much more diversity for my performances and helps me to fill all my needs in variet ensemble I play with. I am more then happy to have this wonderful instrument as my companion in my professional life as a musician".