After three wonderful Spring/Summer concerts by Julie Sassoon, Eyolf Dale and Liam Noble, Improvised Music Company are delighted to announce the second season of the 2016 Solo Piano Series this Autumn as we return to the splendid setting of The Hugh Lane Gallery as part of theSundays at Noon Series. This wonderful FREE event is perfect post brunch entertainment.

“Virtuosity, classical knowledge, wit and entertainer’s instincts” - The Guardian

Our Autumn season hosts three more unique pianists beginning in early September with multi award winning pianist Bojan Z (Zulfikarpasic). Based in Paris, originally from Serbia, Bojan Z’s personal sense of style defies easy classification. With a background in classical music, rock, Brazilian music, blues, jazz and Balkan Folklore, Z harmoniously blends and twists his colourful musical baggage, innovating, yet never losing his taste for melody and song form. (Listen here)

“a complex, diverse, audacious and ultimately superb, poetic work of art. The kind of thing to listen to all day...”- Rolling Stone

Starting with classical piano at the age of 5, moving toward the Belgrade rock scene as a youngster, Z obtained a scholarship at the age of 18 to study jazz with Clare Fischer in the US. Just a few years later he was awarded ‘Best Young Jazz Musician of Yugoslavia’. At twenty, he settled in Paris, establishing himself as a innovative improviser on the French jazz scene. More than two decades later, Bojan Z has an impressive record to his name. A much sought-after sideman, he has collaborated with luminaries like Henri Texier, Michel Portal and Julien Lourau. In addition he has eight albums under his own name which highlight the scale and scope of his musical oeuvre, including his multi-ethnical project Koreni, which heralded him as one of the pioneers in bringing Balkan influences into modern jazz music making.

“Utterly absorbing and quite beautiful […] essential listening for those who still have faith in solo piano to surprise and delight.” - All About Jazz

Z’s first solo outing was the cannily titled Solobsession in 2001 (Label Bleu). His second solo album followed eleven years later entitled Soul Shelter, (Emarcy/Universal), a record which highlights a beguiling and mature approach to his own breed of stylistic fusion which resulted in a coveted Artist of the Year award from the Victoires du Jazz in 2012. On this album “drama and beauty are everywhere juxtaposed” and peppered throughout are the singular tones of his heavily modified Fender Rhodes, a ‘Frankensteinian’ project he dubbed a ‘xenophone’, which has since become one of his trademarks. Ever creative, ever stylish, never predictable and always anchored around melodious motifs, Bojan Z’s singular vision for solo piano makes this a signature performance not to be missed.

Boyan Z will also perform at Triskel Christchurch in Cork as part of their Steinway Series on September 3rd.

Following performances by Bojan Z, the Solo Piano Series brings you Eve Risser, October 7th (Cork) & 9th (Dublin) and Huw Warren, November 4th (Cork) & 6th (Dublin).