Especially for this project Igor Lunder wrote some originals and arrangements of compositions by Béla Bartók, Bill Evans, Chick Corea and Dave Brubeck. There are also arrangements of two traditional Slovenian folk songs, an old popular tune, a composition by Igor’s good friend and colleague Zoran Šćekić and the 4-tenors-battle on John Coltrane’s “Countdown”.

This quite pretentious programme was recorded by the great Zagreb Saxophone Quartet. Five compositons are for quartet, five for quartet & guitar and four add some of the best Slovenian jazz-saxophone players as guests.
At the end, all saxophonists unite in “The Hymn For Saxophone Octet”, where you can also hear the bass saxophone.

 

IGOR LUNDER finished his studies at the Jazz Department of the High School of Music and Ballet in Ljubljana. He continued his studies at the Jazz Departments of the University of Music and Dramatic Arts in Graz and Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. He obtained his Master degrees in Jazz-guitar and Jazz-composition and arranging.
He performs with different jazz musicians in different jazz combos. After various sessions with many saxophone players, he wrote arrangements and in 1999 established Igor Lunder with Reeds (saxophone quartet and a guitar). In 2003 he released the CD Jazz Menu and in 2006 Igor Lunder with Zagreb Saxophone Quartet & Guests – Reeeeeeeeds. In 2003 he made another project: Igor Lunder Sextet. In 2004 they released their first CD. He also leads and arranges for his trio and a quartet. He writes compositions and arrangements for Big Bands as well as smaller ensembles. He is an artistic director and conductor of Big Band Grosuplje. He teaches at the Jazz Department of the High School of Music and Ballet in Ljubljana. He performed on different festivals in Ljubljana, Maribor, Koper, Kranj, Krško, Portorož, Podsreda, Bohinj, Cerkno, Tolmin, Zagreb, Beograd, Novi Sad, Pula, Bjelovar, Bratislava, Krakow.

The graduates of the Zagreb Academy of Music (Croatia) in the class of Prof. Josip Nochta founded the Zagreb Saxophone Quartet, which has been performing with the present members since 1989.
The Zagreb Saxophone Quartet are: DRAGAN SREMEC - soprano saxophone, GORAN MERČEP - alto saxophone, SAŠA NESTOROVIĆ - tenor saxophone and MATJAŽ DREVENŠEK - baritone saxophone.
They have performed in Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Czech Republic, Croatia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Macedonia, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, and USA (see more at Current Projects) and in halls such as: Hôtel de Ville in Brussels, Ny Carlsberg Glyptothek in Copenhagen, Cankarjev dom in Ljubljana, Slovene Philharmonic Hall in Ljubljana, Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid, Ted Mann Hall in Minneapolis, Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, Franz-Joseph Hall in Munich, Carnegie Recital Hall in New York, Grand Palace in Paris, Richard Wagner Hall in Riga, Palao de la Musica in Valencia, Porgy & Bess Club in Vienna, Croatian Music Institute in Zagreb, Vatroslav Lisinski Hall in Zagreb, etc.
They have been soloists with the Zagreb Philharmonic, the Croatian Radio Television Symphony Orchestra, the Zagreb Soloists, the Slovenian Philharmonic, the Slovenian Radio Television Symphony Orchestra, the Slovenian Army Orchestra, the Slovenian Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, the Croatian Radio Television Big Band, the Croatian Army Symphony Wind Orchestra and the Croatian Navy Orchestra, playing under the baton of distinguished conductors like Hans Graf, Pavle Dešpalj, Marko Letonja, Kazushi Ono, Vjekoslav Šutej and others. Renowned ensembles and soloists often appear as guests at their concerts, including Tomislav Mužek, the Slovenian Brass Quintet and composer Miljenko Prohaska, or the famous saxophonists Eugene Rousseau, Claude Delangle, Vincent David, Debra Richtmeyer, Matthew Sintchack, Steven Mauk, Kenneth Tse and Quartetto Academia.
They have given performances, highly acclaimed both by critics and audiences, at Dubrovnik Summer Festival, Split Summer Festival, 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th World Saxophone Congress in Pesaro, Valencia, Montreal, and Minneapolis, Zagreb Music Biennale, Ljubljana Summer Festival, Europhonia in Zagreb, Musicora in Paris, Biennale de la Creation Musicale et Choregraphique de l'Essone in Orsay, Open Europe 2000 in Berlin, Europamusicale 2000 in München, Ohrid Summer Festival, NOMUS 2003 Festival, Nei Suoni Dei Luoghi Festival, ISCM World Music Days - Slovenia 2003 in Postojna and Piran, Saxophonia 2005 in Latvia , ISCM World Music Days - Music Biennale Zagreb 2005;...
Their repertoire includes pieces originally written for a saxophone quartet, as well as transcriptions and arrangements of pieces by various composers belonging to different periods and styles, ranging from the baroque (J.S. Bach, H. Purcell) to the 20th century (A. Piazzola, Ph. Glass, G. Gershwin). In addition to this, the ensemble's top-notch performances have inspired numerous Croatian composers (B. Bjelinski, D. Detoni, N. Glassl, S. Glojnarić, S. Horvat, O. Jelaska, I. Kuljerić, B. Lazarin, S. Majurec, B. Papandopulo, M. Prohaska, R. Radica, M. Ruždjak, T. Simović, B. Šipuš, M. Tarbuk, T. Uhlik), as well as foreign ones (J. Golob, J. Gregorc, M. Lazar, I. Lunder, J. Matičič, P. Merku, I. Petrić, P. Ramovš, P. Šavli - Slovenia, N. Hall - New Zealand) to dedicate their pieces to them.

DRAGAN SREMEC graduated saxophone and earned his MA degree in the class of Josip Nochta at the Zagreb Academy of Music. He graduated also conducting in the class of Igor Gjadrov. He received further training under Daniel Deffayet at the CNSM de Paris as a French government grantee and under Dr. Eugene Rousseau at the IU School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana as a Fulbright grantee.
As a saxophone soloist and member of the Zagreb saxophone quartet he earned all major prizes at the competitions in former Yugoslavia and the number of awards, notably «Milka Trnina», «Judita”, several »Porin» awards for the CDs, «Darko Lukić» award etc.
Dragan Sremec is professor of saxophone and was also the vice-dean at the Zagreb University Music Academy, the founder of the Zagreb Saxophone Quartet, principal saxophonist with the Zagreb Philharmonic and the Croatian Radio Television Symphony Orchestra and a regular guest-conductor of the Croatian Army Symphonic Wind Orchestra.
He performed as soloist and as member of the Zagreb Saxophone quartet in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Spain, Slovenia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, USA (recital in Weil Recital Hall at the Carnegie Hall with pianist Kari Miller) and with Zagreb Philharmonic, Croatian Radio Television Symphony Orchestra, Zagreb Soloists, Slovenian Philharmonic, Slovenian Army Orchestra, Croatian Army Symphonic Wind Orchestra, Croatian Radio Television Big Band. Croatian Navy Orchestra and recently with The US Navy Band in Washington.
As a conductor Dragan Sremec appeared with the Zagreb Philharmonic, Croatian Radio Television Symphony Orchestra and Choir, Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra and Croatian Army Symphonic Wind Orchestra.
A number of foremost Croatian composers such as Papandopulo, Bjelinski, Tarbuk, Ruždjak, Klobučar dedicated their pieces to him.
He was the member of national and international juries (saxophone and wind orchestra competitions), directs international summer seminars in Krško, Stari Grad, Nova Gorica and Dubrovnik and masterclasses notably at the 24th International Saxophone Symposium in Washington.


GORAN MERČEP (Ismailia ARE, 1959) has won a number of important prizes during his studies. Following his degree, he went on to study in Paris with Prof. Claude Delangle, as scholarship holder of the French government. He is professor of chamber music at the Zagreb University Music Academy and artistic director of the Samobor Musical Autumn festival. Since 1989 he is a member of the Zagreb Saxophone Quartet and directs international summer courses in Stari Grad, Dubrovnik, Krško and Nova Gorica.
As soloist Goran Merčep performed with Croatian Army Symphony Wind Orchestra, Zagreb Soloists, Varaždin chamber orchestra, Croatian chamber orchestra, Dubrovnik Symphony orchestra. He gave solo performances of croatian contemporary music in Music Biennale festival in Zagreb and Cervantino festival in Mexico. He is a member of «Cantus» ensemble of contemporary music.


SAŠA NESTOROVIĆ (Zagreb, 1964) taught classical saxophone at the Music School in Zagreb from 1992 to 1998, as well as jazz improvisation and the principles of improvisation at the Secondary School of Music and Ballet in Ljubljana (Slovenia). He has been active on the German, Croatian and Slovene jazz scene. He leads the Summer School of Jazz on the island of Brač and gives lectures at the Summer School of Saxophone in Dubrovnik. He is now saxophonist, clarinetist and recording musician with the Croatian Radio Television Big Band, as well as composer and arranger with the Zagreb Jazz Portrait quartet. He has worked with eminent jazz musicians like Jesse Benett, Allan Pruskin and Mario de Murier.
He was a member of the EBU Big Band Orchestra during a concert tour in Montreal and other cities of Canada in 1999 and has participated in many jazz recordings in Croatia and Slovenia.


MATJAŽ DREVENŠEK, professor at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, has – as regards his work – collaborated with eminent musicians and music pedagogues (S. Bichon, V. David, C. Delangle (F), A. Bornkamp (NL), P. Epstein, S. Mauk, E. Rousseau, D. Richtmeier, K. Tse (USA), T. Mužek, M. Prohaska (HR), Quartetto Academia (I), I. Grafenauer, M. Bekavac, Slovenian Brass Quintet, Slowind Quintet (SLO)...).
As member of the Zagreb Saxophone Quartet and the Saxofakind Septet, as well as in duos with pianist Z. Peter, percussionist A. L. Barber, harpsichordist M. Lazar, and as soloist in the Percussion Plus and Studio for Percussion ensembles, he has given concerts in Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Macedonia, Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro, Turkey, and the USA, as well as at festivals, such as the A Tempo in Podgorica, the Biennale de la Création Musicale et Chorégraphique de l'Essone in Orsay, Dubrovnik Summer Festival, Europa Musicale 2000 in Munich, Europhonia in Zagreb, the European Month of Culture '97 in Ljubljana, Festival of 20th Century Chamber Music Radenci, Festival musicale internazionale Nei suoni dei luoghi '03, Festival Music September 2004 in Maribor, Lent Festival in Maribor, ISCM World Music Days - Slovenia 2003 in Postojna and Piran, ISCM World Music Days - Music Biennale Zagreb 2005, the International Summer Festival in Ljubljana, Musicora in Paris, the Music biennale Zagreb, NOMUS 2003 in Novi Sad, the Ohrid Summer, Open Europe 2000 in Berlin, the Osor Musical Evenings, Saxophonia 2005 in Latvia, the Skopje Summer, the Slovenian Music Days, the Split Summer, the Musical Rostrum in Opatija, the World Saxophone Congresses in Pesaro, Valencia, Montreal and Minneapolis.
He has been soloist with the following orchestras: the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra (under the baton of A. Drčar, H. Graf, Th. Guschlbauer, U. Lajovic, M. Letonja, J. Simonov), the Maribor Philharmonic (S. Robinson, M. Tarbuk), the Chamber String Orchestra of the Slovenian Philharmonic, Camerata Labacensis, the Slovenian Army Orchestra, the Zagreb Philharmonic, the Symphony Orchestra and Big Band of the Croatian Radio Television, the Zagreb Soloists, the Symphony Wind Orchestra of the Croatian Army. He is member of the Soloists’ Chamber Orchestra of the Society of Slovene Composers (KOS).
He has premiered works of numerous composers, such as B. Bjelinski, D. Božič, D. Detoni, S. Glojnarić, J. and R. Golob, J. Gregorc, N. Hall, S. Horvat, J. Kalčič, I. Krivokapič, M. Lazar, B. Lazarin, W. Liebhart, J. Matičič, P. Merkù, B. Papandopulo, I. Petrić, M. Prohaska, M. Ptaszyńska, R. Radica, P. Ramovš, M. Ruždjak, P. Šavli, P. Šivic, I. Štuhec, M. Tarbuk and T. Uhlik.
He has taken part in 14 discographic editions, the most important among them being Croatian Saxophone Music, Z Quartet, Cascades, Tsunagari, and Ruben Radica: A Selection of Works (all with the Zagreb Saxophone Quartet, which have won 6 discographic Porin Awards), and the Duo – Matjaž Drevenšek, alto saxophone & Zoltan Peter, piano.
He is a winner of various prizes in the field of art music and education (Škerjanc Award, the Plaque of the Ljubljana Central Borough, Milka Trnina Award, the Croatian Musical Institute Prize, the Nada Popović-Bukovinac Foundation Prize, etc.).
He has led a number of summer schools, Hic Faros, Hic Ars on the island of Hvar, the Musical Summer in Podsreda Castle, Alps – Adriatic – Danube in Krško, apart from being artistic director of the International Meeting of Saxophonists in Nova Gorica. He has been member of juries at domestic and international (Bayreuth, Krško, Limoges, Nova Gorica, Riga) competitions of young musicians. He is artistic director of International Meetings of Saxophonists in Nova Gorica, he is also president of the Jeunesses Musicales Slovenia and the Saksofonija Music Society, which is to organize the 14th World Saxophone Congress in Ljubljana in 2006.

PRIMOŽ FLEISCHMAN attended the Secondary School of Music in Ljubljana, where he studied at three programs (theory, composition, classical and jazz). He graduated cum laude from the Ljubljana Academy of Music in 1998 (Prof. M. Drevenšek). He also studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston. He achieved three first prizes as a soloist at national young musician competitions, and one first prize performing with a saxophone quartet, with which he also got the Škerjanc award and the “mala plaketa” award of the city of Ljubljana. He has performed as a soloist with Big Band RTV Slovenia, the Slovenian Philharmonic and the RTV Slovenia Symphonic Orchestra. Primož has performed at inter-national jazz festivals in Ljubljana, Idrija, Cerkno, Maribor, Warsaw, Rome, Istanbul, Novi Sad, Kumanovo, Belgrade and Zagreb. He collaborates with various ensembles, such as European Jazz Connection, Fake Orchestra, Caminoigra, Mardjango Quartet, Ensemble “4saxess”, Elvis Stanić Group, etc. He also teaches the saxophone at the Ljubljana Secondary School of Music jazz department, while finishing his postgraduate studies of jazz analysis at the Ljubljana Academy of Music.

JAKA KOPAČ obtained his Master degree in Jazz-saxophone at the Jazz Department of the University of Music and Dramatic Arts in Graz. He also took lessons in New York with Vincent Herring and Brad Leali. On audition in Paris he got the scholarship from the Berklee College of Music in Boston. He worked with: Stjepko Gut, Duško Gojković, Harry L. Witaker, Boško Petrović, Primož Grašič, Igor Lunder, Ratko Divjak, Drago Gajo, Big Band Graz, Big Band RTV Slovenija, The Fool Cool Jazz Orchestra, HRT Big Band… .


JURE PUKL studied at the University of Music and Dramatic Arts in Vienna, Royal Conservatory in Den Haag and the Berklee College of Music in Boston (with George Garzone, Joe Lovano, Greg Hopkins…). He performed with Vienna Sax Quartet, Gustav Mahler Orchestra, Nouvele Couisine, Jeff Gallindo, Repoublique Electronique, Big Band RTV Slovenia, Berklee Concert Jazz Orchestra, Renato Chicco, Peter Mihelič, Boško Petrović… .



IGOR LUMPERT (1975, Novo Mesto, SLO) finished Bruckner Conservatory in Linz. After that he moved to New York, where he studied at the New School University with George Garzone, Reggie Workman, Buster Williams, Chico Hamilton and Billy Harper. He graduated in 2002. He performed with: Reggie Workman, Andy Mckee, Robert Glasper, Damion Reid, Boris Kozlov, George Colligan, Vincente Archer, Jonathan Blake, Jacob Bro, Sonny Simmons… . He leads his own band Innertextures and teaches at Jazzinty summer music workshop in Novo Mesto. Festivals: Munich 1999, Ljubljana 2001 and 2002, Cankarjev dom - Ljubljana 2004… Clubs: Jazz Standard, Cornelia street cafe,
Supperclub, Kavehaz - NYC, Porgy and Bess - Vienna, Unterfahrt - Munich, Linz,
Zagreb, Wels, Trieste, Venice, Ulm…  Currently he lives and works in New
York and periodically in Slovenia.


MILAN NIKOLIĆ
(1973, Kruševac, SCG) obtained his Master degrees in Jazz-contrabass at the Jazz Department of the University of Music and Dramatic Arts in Graz. Since 1996 he lives in Graz, where he’s one of the most asked jazz double bass players. He played with great musicians like: Dusko Gojkovic, Stjepko Gut, Karl Ratzer, Fritz Pauer, Ed Neumeister, Uli Rennert…