Piano with Jan K.

I am an internationally recognized New York-based saxophonist, clarinetist, composer, arranger, bandleader, producer and educator. I grew up in Slovenia, where I got my first (very thorough) formal training in both classical and jazz music. I continued my studies at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague in The Netherlands, where I obtained my Bachelor's degree, followed by Graduate studies at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College in New York, where I obtained my Master of Music degree in 2013, as one of the school's notable alumni. In addition to performing and recording with some of today’s biggest names in instrumental music (Alex Sipiagin, Miguel Zenón, Antonio Hart, Alain Pérez, Jason Palmer, Fernando García, Mark Turner, Chris Potter, Linda Oh, Marko Djordjevic), and being active in a wide variety of musical genres (World Music, Traditional to Modern Jazz, Latin jazz, Flamenco, Neo-Soul), I perform my original music on a steady basis throughout the Tri-State Area and Europe, with past performances in Asia and the Caribbean, as the leader of my cross-cultural groups – the Jan K. Quartet and Jan K. & The Slavo Rican Assembly. My most notable past performances include Carnegie Hall, United Nations Headquarters NYC (performance for International Jazz Day), Birdland Jazz Club, Teatro Latea, Blue Note Jazz Festival, DROM, and Brooklyn Museum in New York, Ljubljana Jazz Festival and Sax Go '19 festival in Europe, Afro Caribbean Percussionists festival in Puerto Rico, Jazz Paradise Festival in Cyprus, and Old Blue in South Korea. Besides performing, I also have a sincere passion for music education, which led me to organizing two very well received international Summer schools of music in my home country. I have been active as a private lessons instructor for saxophone, clarinet, piano, music theory, ear training, sight reading, and jazz improvisation classes in the New York City metro area for the last 7 years, with students consistently achieving great results at their NYSSMA and ABRSM exams. I am also proud to say I am currently active as a substitute teacher for the saxophone legend, prof. Antonio Hart, at my Alma mater, the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, teaching Sight reading and Jazz improvisation classes at the Graduate level. However, I also have lots of experience and truly enjoy working with younger students, on either their afore mentioned NYSSMA and ABRSM exams, or just as a hobby - so all ages are welcome!