DIMITRIJE VASILJEVIC is a New Orleans based, award-winning
jazz pianist and composer who has been hailed as “a strong jazz player with an
impressive vocabulary and a powerful modern improviser who shows promise that
he will be a new voice in modern jazz” (Tony Germain – Berklee College of
Music). His music, “iridescent and captivating, a cascade of weaving twists and
turns” (All About Jazz), represents an innovative combination of the gentle
flavor of European jazz with intricate musical landscapes full of exotic
rhythms and sophisticated harmony.
Vasiljević got his Bachelor Degrees both from Berklee
College of Music in Boston, MA and University of Arts in Belgrade, Serbia, his
Master’s degree from NYU Steinhardt in New York City and his doctorate (DMA)
from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Before he accepted the
position of a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Jazz Studies at Xavier
University of Louisiana in New Orleans in 2017, he taught jazz piano at both
NYU Steinhardt in NYC and UIUC in Urbana, IL.
Vasiljević has performed concerts at such renowned venues as
Carnegie Hall (NYC), United Nations Headquarters (NYC), Kennedy Center
(Washington, DC), Krannert Center (Urbana, IL). He performs extensively
throughout the United States and Europe, both as a solo pianist and with his
own jazz trio/quartet/quintet. In 2008 he won third jury prize and the audience
prize at the world renowned Montreux Solo Jazz Piano Competition in
Switzerland, and in 2014, Tesla Science Foundation in New York City, awarded
him with a Recognition of Achievement for his contribution in promoting the
life and legacy of Nikola Tesla through Music. In 2015, Vasiljević was a
finalist of both Luminarts Jazz Competition in Chicago and the Kate Neal Kinley
Memorial Fellowship competition. During his time at Berklee, he received the
Jazz Performance Award and the Piano Department Achievement Award, and while
working on his doctorate at UIUC, he received Creative and Performing Arts Fellowship.
He has performed with renowned jazz artists such as Joe Lovano, Chris Potter,
Charles “Chip” McNeill, Tito Carrillo, Victor Garcia, Marko Djordjevic, Klemens
Marktl and Brad Shepik, among others.
In addition to his composing/performing and teaching
careers, Vasiljević also scores music for films (There Has to Be More Than
This; Tierra Utopia), and is one of the founding members of Music Defying
Boundaries, American nonprofit organization dedicated to engaging individuals
with experimental and improvised music through education, performance, and
documentation. For 5 years, he was also on the faculty of Blue Mountain Chamber
Music Festival summer camps in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Vasiljević is a
Ropeadope Records artist and a member of Jazz Education Network (JEN).
Over the past decade, jazz pianist and Origin Records
recording artist Danny Green has earned recognition as a bandleader and as a
composer with a gift for spinning supple, absorbing narratives. Green’s growing
portfolio of vibrant sounds – an enchanting mix of jazz, classical, and
Brazilian rhythms – has captured the attention of critics around the world,
including DownBeat Magazine, Jazziz, San Diego Union Tribune, the Boston Globe,
and Public Radio International. It’s no small wonder that Green has earned two
San Diego Music awards for Best Jazz Album and an additional award for Best
Jazz Artist. His long-time trio includes bassist Justin Grinnell and drummer
Julien Cantelm, noteworthy musicians in their own right, and together they have
developed a nearly psychic connection as they perform Green’s original
compositions and jazz standards. Green takes listeners on a journey that is
equal parts introspective and exuberant, and always compelling.
Green’s talents have taken him from the Blue Note in New
York City to the Blue Whale in Los Angeles, and his work has been featured in
DownBeat Magazine, Jazziz, the San Diego Union Tribune, The Boston Globe, NPR,
and JazzEd. According to JazzReview.com, “Danny Green is what evolution in jazz
is all about, expressing the traits of those that came before him, with a style
and panache that is all his own…an individual who expresses what is inside of
him.”
Green revealed his unique talents on his 2009 debut recording
With You In Mind. The album received extensive airplay around the globe, rose
to #18 on the Jazz Week Charts, and won “Best Jazz Album” at the 2009 San Diego
Music Awards. In 2012, Green teamed up with Tapestry Records to release A
Thousand Ways Home, featuring Justin Grinnell on bass, Julien Cantelm on drums,
and Tripp Sprague on sax, as well as a talented cast of guest artists inducing
guitarists Chico Pinheiro, Peter Sprague, and Dusty Brough, Brazilian vocalist
Claudia Villela, and mandolinist Eva Scow. A Thousand Ways Home received
numerous rave reviews nationwide, rose to #17 on the Jazz Week Charts, was
voted into KSDS Jazz 88.3’s “Top Ten Jazz Releases of 2012,” and was nominated
“Best Jazz Album” at the 2013 San Diego Music Awards.
In 2014, the Danny Green Trio, comprised of Green, Grinnell,
and Cantelm, released the highly-acclaimed album After The Calm on Origin/OA2
Records. Featuring ten of Green’s compositions, the album received much praise
from the press and nationwide radio play, and won “Best Jazz Album” at the 2015
San Diego Music Awards and was nominated for “Album of the Year.”
The trio recorded their 2016 release, Altered Narratives, at
New York City’s famed Sear Sound recording studio with award-winning producer
Matt Pierson. Released on Origin/OA2 Records, the album consists of eleven
original compositions by Green. The three tunes at the center of the album
feature the trio with a string quartet led by violinist Antoine Silverman, a
widely admired New York classical and studio player. All About Jazz critic Dan
McClenaghan commented, “There’s nothing that adds a touch of elegance to a jazz
set more than an adeptly-done string arrangement, and these are superb;
violins, viola and cello in a sinuous, sometimes whispering embrace with a vibrant,
top-notch piano trio, delving into Danny Green’s distinguished compositions.”
The album remained on the Jazz Week Top 50 chart for fourteen weeks and earned
high praise from critics worldwide.
The Danny Green Trio Plus Strings released its first full
length album, One Day It Will, in 2018. The album features San Diego Symphony
violinists Kate Hatmaker and Igor Pandurski, violist Travis Maril, and cellist
Erica Erenyi. One Day It Will was featured in DownBeat Magazine, Jazz Weekly
(selected as “Ringer of the Week”), CD Hotlist (selected as “Pick of the
Month”), The New York City Jazz Record, Mercury News, and Long Islander News,
among many other press outlets. Jazz da Gama called the album, “one to die
for.” The album remained on the Jazz Week Top 50 charts for five weeks and was
featured multiple times on Public Radio International’s nationally syndicated
Jazz After Hours.
Green has brought his Trio Plus Strings to venues throughout
the United States. The group debuted in 2016 at New York City’s Shapeshifter
Lab, and since then has maintained a steady performance schedule, including
shows at Huntington Summer Arts Festival (NY), TEDxSan Diego at Copley Symphony
Hall, KSDS Jazz 88.3’s Jazz Live (San Diego), Portola Vineyards Summer Jazz
Series (Los Altos, CA), The Blue Whale (Los Angeles), An Die Musik Live!
(Baltimore), and Rockwood Music Hall (NYC). The Danny Green Trio Plus Strings
was selected to perform at the prestigious Western Arts Alliance Juried
Showcase in 2017.
Green is highly devoted to music education. Green and his
trio have given clinics and masterclasses throughout the United States. In
addition to his work as a private piano instructor, Green is a faculty member
of the annual Jazz 88.3 Summer Jazz Workshop, adjunct faculty at Grossmont
Community College, and he presents a jazz appreciation workshop at elementary
schools as part of the Athenaeum Music and Arts Library’s outreach program.
Green directed the jazz ensemble at Coronado School of the Arts from 2014-2017,
and was an artist in residence at Canyon Crest Academy and at CSU Summer Arts
Monterey.
Two-time grammy nominated organist and winner of Downbeat
Magazine’s 2016 rising star poll Pat Bianchi, has established himself as one of
the principal organists on the scene today. His command of the instrument,
harmonic prowess, rhythmic intensity and versatility are rivaled by few. His
most recent release, A Higher Standard featuring Byron Landham and Craig Ebner,
exemplifies Bianchi's superiority and finesse in the organ trio setting,
bringing jazz standards to a completely 'higher' level. When Pat is not leading
his own trio, he performs regularly with jazz guitar icon, Pat Martino. Bianchi
also continues to perform with NEA Jazz Master and saxophone legend, Lou
Donaldson.
Bianchi, who comes
from a musically gifted family, began playing organ at the age of 7, after
receiving a Farfisa Compact Duo organ as a Christmas gift. His grandfathers
(Pat Bianchi – Saxophone and Richard Zona – Trumpet) along with his father
(Nick Bianchi – Drums) all working musicians, provided a great deal of support
and guidance early in his musical development. Recognizing Pat’s continuing
affinity for music, his parents enrolled him in classical piano study. While
still maintaining a strong interest in organ, he was playing his first
professional gigs by the age of 11, eventually performing with dance bands
around his hometown of Rochester, NY.
Bianchi’s interest shifted in his high school years as he
began to also focus on piano. Enrolling in The Eastman School of Music’s preparatory
program for piano and music theory, while being mentored by numerous musicians
in the Rochester jazz scene. Through a rich mentoring system, passion and
dedication, (also not being able to play left hand bass on a Spinet organ)
Bianchi taught himself to play bass lines solely with his foot pedals.
Upon graduating high school, Bianchi continued his studies
at Berklee College of Music in Boston and graduated in 1998 with a Bachelors of
Music in Jazz Piano Performance. Shortly after graduating cum laude, Bianchi
secured the position as the house pianist at the famous El Chapultepec club in
Denver, CO. The Pec (as it is known to locals) often brought in guest artists
giving Pat the opportunity to play with such greats as Red Holloway, Dakota
Staton, Carl Fontana, Javon Jackson, Mark Elf, Bud Shank, Brad Leali, Pete
Christlieb, and Conte Candoli. After being at the Pec for 6 nights a week for
almost 3 years, Pat became an important fixture on the Denver Jazz Scene.
At this time, Bianchi decided to focus exclusively on the
organ making his national debut as an organist, appearing on two recordings as
a member the Denver based organ trio, 3osity. The national release of Art of
The Jazz Organ Trio and the subsequent recording Tri-O-City brought Bianchi wider
recognition and onto a larger stage as a rising star of the organ.
Moving to NYC, Bianchi quickly established himself in the
competitive New York scene. At this time, legendary saxophonist Lou Donaldson
immediately took notice of the young organist.
Bianchi then joined the faculty of the University of
Colorado at Boulder Jazz Studies Program teaching piano, theory and ensembles
to undergraduate, masters and doctoral students. During this time he recorded
his first album as a leader, East Coast Roots, which features Mark Whitfield on
guitar and Byron Landham on drums. At the same time, Bianchi began working
closely with drummer Ralph Peterson Jr. on collaborative projects, including
and co-leading The Unity Project (a tribute to organist Larry Young and his
album Unity).
Bianchi returned to New York City in June of 2008, soon
after, he officially joined The Lou Donaldson’s quartet in 2009. Continuing to
play with Lou, Bianchi also joined Pat Martino’s working trio in 2011 while
taking on the responsibilities as musical director. Bianchi is featured on
numerous recordings such as Tim Warfield’s Sentimental Journey, a follow up to
Warfield’s recording One For Shirley (on which he also appears) as well as
guitarist Chuck Loeb’s release, Plain and Simple. At this time Bianchi also
continued to perform with drummer Ralph Peterson Jr., forging ahead with The
Unity Project. Bianchi was featured, recording much of this material on
Peterson’s CD Outer Reaches. Soon after Bianchi released his second recording
as a leader, Back Home. This recording features Terell Stafford, Ralph Peterson
Jr, Wayne Escoffery, Carmen Intorre Jr. and Gilad Hekselman.
While still actively performing with both Pat Martino and
Lou Donaldson, Bianchi not only continues to collaborate with many well known
musicians. His next album as a bandleader "Trios” will feature an array of
special guests including Pat Martino, Kevin Mahogany, Joe Locke, Peter
Bernstein, Paul Bollenback, Byron Landham, Carmen Intorre, Jr. will be released in 2018!
