Srdjan Ivanovic

Drummer/composer Srdjan Ivanovic (1983) chose sticks, drums and cymbals as his main weapon in his quest to liberate energies through musical encounters. He blends melodic modern-jazz with the musical heritage of the Balkans and adds to that anything that might find itself on the way, including electronic sounds, samples and, why not, singers. “His subtle, fluent playing and organically blended compositions will take you on a sacred journey” (Jazz News - France). In his latest album with Blazin’ Quartet “La mer, la terre, la terre, l’oiseau” he is surrounded by an exceptionally talented, all european band featuring saxophonist Christophe Panzani, trumpet player Andreas Polyzogopoulos, bassist Mihail Ivanov as well as guitarist Federico Casagrande. “The long name of the album says it clearly - nature will speak, whisper its secrets that only the spirit can receive and that the musician, directing air vibrations will know how to communicate.” (Les InRocks). His latest project - Xénos is a fresh band consisting of saxophonist Robby Marshall, guitarist Hugo Corbin and bassist Timothée Robert as well as guest singers.

Currently based in Paris, Srdjan was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia from which he moved in 1992 to Athens, Greece, to escape the war. His earliest musical influences involved late night music sessions of his father’s friends, a classical guitarist and composer. His father exposed him to a very broad musical spectrum and music was a source of joy and belonging, which Srdjan then turned into his career. At the age of 19 he left to study the drums in the Netherlands, where he graduated at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and Utrechts Conservatorium. During and after his studies, and was praised by the press for the originality and organic feel to his playing and compositions. He won several awards, most notably the Dutch Jazz Competition and was given the prestigious Prins Bernhard Foundation scholarship to study in New York. As a student, he dreamed of performing alongside world-renowned artists at the North Sea Jazz Festival and ultimately shared his music for 3 years in a row at this major festival.

As a leader he has released three records with the Srdjan Ivanovic Blazin’ Quartet, Finding A Way (Challenge Records 2009) Jalkan Bazz (Challenge Records, 2012) and La mer, la pierre, la terre, l'oiseau (Coolabel/Absilone, 2017). He is also co-leader of the 11 piece Ivanovic-Nikolov Undectet with with which they have released their debut album Artistry In Broken Rhythm (Metropolis 2018). He appears on over twenty albums as a sideman and since moving to Paris in 2014, he has been playing with various groups such as The 3 Moons and the Hugo Corbin Quartet. He has also written music for film and theatre. He’s an endorser of Istanbul Agop cymbals and Gabriel Hand-Made Drums.

His international career and love for music have given him the opportunity to travel and meet people from around the world, one of those meetings being his wife Catherine from New York. Srdjan enjoys touring globally and teaching their family of 6 about the diversity of the world through music.