Dimitrije Vasiljevic Quintet
US
Release Date: May 22, 2020
On his Ropeadope debut - Accidental Nomad - Dimitrije Vasiljević reflected on his journey from Belgrade, Serbia to Lousiana by way of the world. Now he returns with US, an album composed and performed entirely by the artist, a seemingly prescient ode to the times we find ourselves in. Gentle, sometimes brooding, and sometimes forceful, Dimi glides through a set of reflective compositions as if he is searching for a new world. US is set for release on May 22 - stay tuned for early release opportunities.
It was always the piano for Dimitrije Vasiljevic. As a child of 5 in Serbia, his mother took him for lessons and fate took care of the rest. Raised in the Russian system of classical training, Dimi found the piano expansive enough to satisfy his desire for playing and composing. Discovering Jazz as a teen, he did his time playing in the Belgrade Dixieland Orchestra building the foundation from the original Jazz source. Soon he was enrolled at Berklee, and if there was any turning back it was then most certainly too late. Jazz (with a capital J) had its hold on him, and turning back was futile.
release date: May 18, 2018
About Dimitrije Vasiljevic Quintet
Dimitrije Vasiljević 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 DMA from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Before he accepted the position of Assistant Professor at Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans, he taught jazz piano at both NYU Steinhardt in NYC and UIUC in Champaign, 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 the jazz greats such as Joe Lovano, Chris Potter, Charles “Chip” McNeill, Tito Carillo, 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, nonprofit organization dedicated to engaging individuals with experimental and improvised music through education, performance, and documentation. For the past 5 years, he was also on the faculty of Blue Mountain Festival summer music camps in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.