Bojan Z

Born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, on 2 February 1968, Bojan Zulfikarpasic took up the piano in early childhood. Although he trained in classical bass, he selected jazz as his primary pursuit while remaining proficient in the classical sphere. Since 1981 he has worked regularly on Fender Rhodes, and before that he drummed in a rock ensemble. At eleven he spent time studying English in the UK; at twenty he relocated to France, where his broad and eclectic repertoire—shaped in part by eastern European folk traditions—and assured stage presence quickly drew notice. In Paris he performed with Trash Corporation and served as sideman to Nguyên Lê, Julien Lourau, Michel Portal and Henri Texier. Additional collaborators, with whom he has sometimes recorded, include guitarist Vlatko Stefanovski, bassists Scott Colley, Steve Swallow and Rémi Vignolo, and drummers Joey Baron, Nasheet Waits, Ben Perowsky and Ari Hoenig. Among pianists he has cited as influences are Duke Ellington, Red Garland, Wynton Kelly and McCoy Tyner, along with the classical artist Alfred Brendel.

Zulfikarpasic writes some of the pieces he plays and presents his technical command with restraint and discernment. In 1990 he received first prize as soloist at the Concours de La Défense, and twelve years afterward he was named Chevalier Des Arts Et Des Lettres. Named European Jazz Artist Of The Year in 2006, he embarked that same year on extensive international travels that proved especially successful in Japan and south-east Asia. He has appeared on multiple occasions at the Sarajevo Jazz Festival.