Monthly Archives: May 2017

Storytelling

Doktor za džez – Dimitrije Vasiljević, kompozitor i pijanista

Dimitrije Vasiljević, kompozitor i pijanista iz Beograda koji godinama živi i radi u Njujorku, nedavno je doktorirao na Ilinoj Univerzitetu u Urbana-Champaignu na temu ‘Kontrapunkt u džez klaviru’ i tako postao prvi doktor džez klavira iz Srbije. On kaže da je kontrapunkt relativno neistražena i nova tehnika u džez klaviru o kojoj nije puno pisano, a kojom se bavi sve više i više pijanista mladje generacije. ‘Svodi se na to da se koriste polifoni metodi vodjenja glasova koji poticu jos od J.S. Baha, pri čemu leva i desna ruka nemaju standardnu ulogu – pratnje i melodije, vech svaka ruka svira zasebne melodijeske linije koje se dobro uklapaju jedna u drugu’, objassnjava i kaže da mu je namera da u skorije vreme pretoči svoju disertaciju u knjigu – udžbenik i objavi je ovde u Americi.

Dimitrije je u Beogradu za samo tri godine završio Muzičku akademiju, odsek Opšta muzička pedagodgija. Posle samo nekoliko meseci 2007. godine otisnuo se sam u Ameriku i završio Berkli univerzitet u Bostonu (Berklee College of Music in Boston). Tu je dobio niz prestižnih nagrada, uključujući i Nagradu za izvodjastvo (Jazz Performance Award) i Nagradu za dostignuća na klavirskom odseku (Piano Department Achievement Award), a godine 2011. preselio se u Njujork. Tu je završio master studije na Njujorškom univerzitetu. Osvojio je treću nagradu žirija i nagradu publike na prestižnom Montro solo džez klavirskom takmicenju (Montreux Jaž Solo Piano Competition), objavio je dva CD-a, a 2014. godine imao je koncert u Karnegi holu u Njujorku, potom u Ujedinjenim nacijama u Njujorku, Kenedi centru u Vašingtonu…. Nedavno je doktorirao na Ilinoj Univerzitetu u Čikagu, a odmah potom prhvatio stalnu poziciju profesora džez klavira na Xajvijer univerzitetu Luizijana (Xavier University of Louisiana) u Nju Orleansu, gradu džeza.

Urban Culture Tribe: Veoma ste ambiciozni i talentovani. Recite nam kako je započela vaša muzička karijera.

Dimitrije Vasiljević: Počeo sam da sviram od svoje šeste godine. Oduvek sam znao da ću biti muzičar i moj životni cilj bio je da postanem što bolji i da naučim što više. U toku školovanja sam svirao klasičnu muziku, a onda sam došao do džeza i tada sam shvatio da je Amerika najboje tlo za razvoj svakog džez muzičara. Tako sam došao u Ameriku i ostao.

Urban Culture Tribe: Šta se želeli da ostvarite i doživite u Americi?

Dimitrije Vasiljević: Imao sam u sebi rešenost da pokažem da sam došao na pravo mesto i to najpre sebi, pa kolegama, pa onda svojim roditeljima koji su u znoju lica svog uspeli da sakupe neki novac i da me pošalju u Ameriku. Mnogi nisu verovali. Govorili su mi da sam isuviše mlad, da je sve to skupo, a ja sam imao taj inat da pokažem da sve mogu. Ipak najviše me je vukla ljubav prema muzici i želja da postanem bolji muzičar i da napredujem što više u onome što radim.

Urban Culture Tribe: Koliko ste vežabli kao dete? Jesu li odrasli morali da vas teraju da vežbate?

Dimitrije Vasiljević: Dok sam bio dečak malo sam vežbao, što bi se reklo, više sati mesečno. Uglavnom sam se izvačio na talenat. Sećam se svog prvog časa klavira i divne profesorke Milane Ulmanski koja je na prvom času klavira uzela moj kliker, nacrtala ga u notnom sistemu i rekla – ovo je nota. Tako je sve počelo.

Urban Culture Tribe: Kako je bilo kasnije? Jeste li bili disciplinovani?

Dimitrije Vasiljević: Kao dečak sam bio lenj, a tek kasnije u pubertetu, kada sam uvideo da mogu da ‘skidam’ rok i pop pesme klavir je počeo da me interesuje u suštinskom smislu. Tada se javilo interesovanje za različitim muzičkim pravcima i tako sam došao do džeza koji me je jako zainteresovao jer je pružao veliku slobodu i moć pokazivanja kreativnosti. Ali je moralo da se vežba. Tako sam počeo da bez teranja vežbam za svoju dušu. Tek kad sam došao u Ameriku počeo sam da sviram po šest – sedam sati dnevno. Možda danas vežbam manje, sat dva dnevno, ali to radim stalno.

Urban Culture Tribe: Završili ste čuveni Berkli koledz u Bostonu (Berklee College of Music). Kakva su bila vaša iskustva?

Dimitrije Vasiljević: Dobro se sećam kada sam došao prvi put u Boston 2007. godine. Nas nekoliko novih studentata čekalo je na registraciju i stajalo po kiši na ulici. Tada sam dobio registarski broj i rekao sebi: evo sad stojim na kiši sam, i ne znam skoro ništa o mestu na koje sam došao. Sada sam samo broj, ali jednog dana biću neko u ovoj školi i na sceni. U međuvremenu sam završio ovaj koledz i tu dobio niz prestižnih nagrada, uključujući i nagradu Jazz Performance i nagradu za dostignuća Odseka za klavir.

Urban Culture Tribe: Neki muzičari čekaju na nastup u Karnegi holu ceo život, a vama se to ostvarilo u mladim godinama. Kako je bilo svirati na tako čuvenom mestu? Koliko vam se život promenio posle ovog velikog dostignuća?

Dimitrije Vasiljević: Svirati u Karnegi holu velika je stvar za svakog muzičara, a u mojoj karijeri to je do sada bio najznačajniji koncert. Ipak, s obizrom da muzika nije sport i da se dostignuća ove vrste ne mogu čuvati kao nekakvi trofeji na polici, svaki sledeci koncert je novi izazov i meni podjednako drag muzički projekat.

Urban Culture Tribe: Vaš prvi album iz 2013. godine nosi neobično ime ‘Staza Silvana (‘The Path of Silvan’). Šta to znači?

Dimitrije Vasiljević: Ovaj album sastavljen je od mojih originalnih kompozicija, a ‘silvan’ je mitski pas iz srpske mitologije, neobična zver velike konstitucije i inteligencije koja je u ranom srednjem veku pratila srpskog viteza od tame ka svetlosti. Svidela mi se ta metafora o mitskom psu koji je bio veran pratilac srpskog viteza i koji mu je pokazivao pravi put, onaj kojim se ređe ide. Mislim da svako od nas bira svoj put. Možda on nije najblistaviji, možda nije glavni, niti svetao, ali je naš. Mi ga najviše volimo i imamo satisfakciju kad ga prođemo. To je taj ‘put silvana’.

Urban Culture Tribe: U medjuvremenu ste snimili drugi album ‘Metafora’. O kakvim kompozicijama je reč?

Dimitrije Vasiljević: Moj drugi album pod imenom ‘Metafora’ (‘Metaphor’) predstavlja svojevrsni kontrast prvom albumu, najpre utoliko sto je u pitanju muzika za solo klavir. Ovaj album sam snimio u Oktavenaudio studiju u Njujorku pod snimateljskom palicom inzenjera zvuka Rajana Strebera (Ryan Streber). ‘Metafora’ je svojevrsni spoj neoklasične muzike i dzeza i koncepcijski se bavi istrazivanjem unutrasnjeg sveta jednog umetnika.

Urban Culture Tribe: Pre nekoliko dana snimili ste i treći autorski album ‘Accidental Nomad’ (‘Slučajni nomad’). Ko je taj ‘slučajni nomad’?

Dimitrije Vasiljević: Ovaj CD snimio sam sa svojim kvintetom iz Champaigna (saxofon, klavir, gitara, kontrabas i bubnjevi). To su sve momci koji su na doktorskim studijama iz dzeza na Ilinoj Univerzitetu i moji dobri prijatelji. Robert Bruks (Robert Brooks) svira tenor saksofon, Hoze Guzman (José Guzmán) gitaru, Andrej Gonsalveš (Andrey Gonçalves) kontrabas, a Endi Vilok (Andy Wheelock) bubnjeve. Robert i Endi su Amerikanci, Andrey je iz Brazila, a Hoze iz Portorika. Svako od njih doprinosti zvuku moje muzike na sebi svojstven način koji je obogacen muzičkim tradicijama koje nose svako iz svoje kulture i naroda. Na albumu su sve moje autorske kompozicije. Stil je eklektičan jer mešam srpsku tradicionalnu muziku, klasično muzičko nasledje, moderan džez, a ima pop uticaja.

Urban Culture Tribe: Je li ovaj put ‘slučajnog nomada’ bio vaš umetnički put?

Dimitrije Vasiljević: Kao što sam naslov kaže, album je inspirisan večitim lutanjem jednog umetnika (ili bilo kog stvaraoca/delatelja) po svetu, sa svime što ono nosi – seljenje na razna mesta, dolaženje, odlaženje, avanture, sretanje raznih zanimljivih ljudi, vezivanje i opraštanje… Sve to kao prolazne stanice na putu praćenja svoje zvezde vodilje i nekog cilja koji celog života nazireš, a koji polako izranja iz magle kako mu se intuitivno približavaš.

~ Milica Puric, Urban Culture Tribe ~

Art

Doctor for the jazz – Dimitrije Vasiljevic, composer and pianist

Dimitrije Vasiljevic, composer and pianist, who works and lives in New York for years recently defended his doctoral dissertation ‘Jazz Piano Counterpoint’ at University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign and officially became a Doctor of Musical Arts in jazz piano performance. Moreover, he became the first doctor of jazz piano in the history of his country Serbia.

He says the counterpoint is relatively unknown and new technique in jazz piano on which not much written, and engaged more and more pianists of the younger generation. In short, it is a technique that relies on polyphonic voice leading methods which originate from J.S. Bach’s music. The left and the right hands don’t have traditional roles of accompaniment and melody, but rather play independent melodic lines which fit well into each other. He also intends to make a book out of his dissertation and publish it here in America.

Dimitrije graduated from the Belgrade Faculty of Music, Department of General Music Pedagogy in just three years. After just a couple of months he went to America in 2007 and graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston). There, he got several prestigious awards, including the award of performance for Jazz Performance Award and Piano Department Achievement Award. He moved to New York in 2011 and completed his master’s degree in Jazz Performance at NYU where he was also an adjunct professor of jazz. At the beginning of April he defended his doctoral dissertation ‘Jazz Piano Counterpoint’ at University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign and officially became a Doctor of Musical Arts in jazz piano performance.

Dimitrije is playing at the Carnegie Hall in New York in 2014

He won the third prize at the Montreux Jazz Solo Piano Competition, he published two CDs, and in 2014. he had a concert at the Carnegie Hall in New York, after that he had concerts at the United Nations in New York and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Recently he accepted tenure-track position of Assistant Professor of Jazz Piano and Jazz Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans, the city of jazz.

Urban Culture Tribe: You are very ambitious and talented. Tell us how your musical career started.

Dimitrije Vasiljevic: I started to play at the age of six. I always knew that I would become a musician. My goal in life was to become the best I can and to learn as much as possible. During my education I started to play classical music, and then I came to jazz and realized that America is the best environment for a jazz musician to flourish. That’s how I came to America and I stayed.

Urban Culture Tribe: What did you want to accomplish and experience in America?

Dimitrije Vasiljevic: It was my determination to prove to myself, then my colleagues and my parents who had worked very hard so that I could come to America that I came to the right place. Many didn’t believe in me. They told me that I’m too young, that all of that is too expensive, and I had that stubbornness to show them that I can achieve anything. However, it was my love towards music and my wish to become a better musician that was driving me to improve at everything I was doing.

Urban Culture Tribe: How much did you practice as a kid? Did someone had to force you to practice?

Dimitrije Vasiljevic: I have practiced very little when I was a child – maybe a couple of hours every month. I got by with my talent only. I remember my first lesson and my lovely teacher Milana Ulmanski who took my little marble ball, drew it in the music notation and told me – this is a note. That’s how everything began.

Urban Culture Tribe: How was it later? Were you disciplined?

The graduation – Dimitrije Vasiljevic at Memorial Stadium Champaign (May, 2017)

Dimitrije Vasiljevic: As a boy I was lazy, only later, when I hit puberty I realized that I could play rock and pop music the piano started to interest fundamentally interest me. It was then when I started to play songs, to show interest in playing and that’s how I came to jazz which had fascinated me because it gives the musician great freedom to express his creativity. But I had to practice. That’s how I started to practice on my own for my soul. Only when I came to America I started to play six to seven hours daily. Maybe I practice less today, one to two hours daily, but I do it all the time.

Urban Culture Tribe: You graduated from the famous Berklee College of Music in Boston. How was your experience?

Dimitrije Vasiljevic: I remember when I arrived for the first time in Boston in 2007. We were a few students who were waiting in the rain for registration. It was then when I got my registry number and told myself: “I’m standing in the rain alone, and I don’t know anyone in America. I’m now just a number, but one day I will be a big name in this city. In the meantime I graduated from this collage, got many prestigious rewards, including the award of performance for Jazz Performance Award and Piano Department Achievement Award.

Dimitrije in New York City – TImes Square

Urban Culture Tribe: Some musicians wait to perform at the Carnegie Hall in New York their whole life, but you did that at a very young age. How was it to perform at such a famous place? How much did your life change after such a great accomplishment?

Dimitrije Vasiljevic: Playing at the Carnegie Hall is a big thing for every musician, and so far it has been the most important concert in my career. Still, since music isn’t sport and as such accomplishments like these can’t be kept as trophies on a shelf, every concert after represents a new challenge and a new musical project.

Urban Culture Tribe: Your first album from 2013. has an unusual name “The Path of Silvan”. What does it stand for?

Dimitrije Vasiljevic: The Path of Silvan’ consisting entirely of his original compositions. Silvan was a mythical dog from the Serbian mythology, an unusual beast that was very huge and very intelligent that followed a knight from darkness to light in the early Middle Ages. I liked the metaphor about the mythical dog that was a faithful companion of a Serbian knight that was leading him to the right way, the one that is less traveled. Everyone chooses his own path. Maybe that path isn’t the brightest, maybe it isn’t the main path, nor luminous, but it’s ours. We love it the most and have a satisfaction when we pass it. That is the ‘path of Silvan’.

Urban Culture Tribe: In the meantime you recorded your second album called ‘Metaphor’. What kind of album is this one?

Dimitrije Vasiljevic: My second album under the name ‘Metaphor’ represents a contrast to the first album, firstly because its music for a single piano. I recorded this album at the Octavenaudio studio in New York under the guidance of the sound engineer Ryan Streber. ‘Metaphor’ is a fusion of neoclassical and jazz music and it represents the inner being of an artist.

Urban Culture Tribe: A few days ago you recorded your third album ‘Accidental Nomad’. Tell us something about the album and its original title.

Dimitrije Vasiljevic: I recorded this CD with my quintet from Champaign (Saxophone, piano, guitar, contrabass and drums). All of the guys are that go to the Doctoral classes for jazz at the University of Illinois are my good friends. Robert Brooks plays the tenor Saxophone, Jose Guzman plays the guitar, Andrey Goncalves plays the contrabass and Andy Wheelock plays the drums. Robert and Andy are from America, Andrey is from Brazil and Jose is from Puerto Rico. Every single guy brings a unique touch to my music, each in their own way through their own musical traditions and culture of the countries that they come from. I wrote all the compositions on the album. The style electric because is mix traditional Serbian music with classical and jazz music, and there is also some pop influence.

Urban Culture Tribe: Was this ‘accidental nomad’ journey was your artistic way?

Dimitrije Vasiljevic: As the title says, the album is inspired by the wandering of an artist in the world, everything that comes with it – moving to different places, coming, going, adventures, meeting various interesting people, bonding and saying goodbye… All of that represents stations at the path of an artist who is led by his shooting star and some goal that you feel your whole life, and which is slowly showing itself the closer you intuitively come to it.

~ Milica Puric, Urban Culture Tribe ~

Uncategorized

Caricaturist Zoran Jovanovic – guest of Chicago

Zoran Jovanovic and his son beside Zoran’s most famous caricature “General With Crosses”

Cartoonist Zoran Jovanovic, whose name is in the Anthology of the Best Cartoonists and Illustrators selected by the New York Times, presented his most prominent cartoons and animated films May 5 at the Consulate General of the Republic of Serbia in Chicago.

The guests at the consulate had an opportunity to see the best of his cartoons, awarded at international festivals, including his most famous caricature “General With Crosses,” which marked his professional career. Also, the audience was presented his animated films “Marksijanci,” “Flags” and “Antidogmin,” which were awarded at international festivals.

The conversation with famous cartoonists was led by consul Dejan Radulovic. He presented “General With Crosses,” saying that this caricature was first published in Hamburg in 1965/66. Zoran Jovanovic won for it the 1967 Palme d’Or at Bordighera in Italy.

“The strong anti-war caricature tells how some people make a career over the dead people,” Jovanovic said.

Consulate General of the Republic of Serbia in Chicago – Serbian consul Dejan Radulovic (left) and caricaturist Zoran Jovanovic

Another caricature presented to Chicago audience was “Flags,” which also has an anti-war message. Its topic is freedom of speech and the power of the flag and the government that can suppress freedom of speech.

“Cartoons and animated films of Zoran Jovanovic are always actual. He works and creates for decades and collaborated with the most prestigious newspapers at the former Yugoslavia. He was also published his caricature many international newspapers, and his movies have been screened at many International festivals,” consul Dejan Radulovic said.

“I have always sought the artistic exit from author’s problem. When I participated at the author’s festivals I received some interesting comments. One of them was that I was dealing with the problems that has been shaking the modern world — this is a quote from the Italian of the press,” Jovanovic said.

Audience had a chance to see another Zoran’s anti-war caricatures

During the rest of the night, the director of animated films, caricaturist and graphic painter talked to the guests and answered their questions.

Jovanovic works were presented at festivals in Oberhausen, Montreal, Krakow, Sydney, Belgrade, Zagreb, London and Aspen. He has had retrospectives of his cartoons at the Harvard Cinematheque, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, the cultural centers of Mumbai, New Delhi and at the Walt Disney studio.

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Antiratne karikature Zorana Jovanovica

Zoran Jovanović, karikaturista čije se ime nalazi u Antologiji najboljih karikatursita i ilustratora po izboru ‘Njujork tajmsa’ izložio je svoje najistaknutije karikature i prikazao animirane filmove 5. maja u Generalnom konzulatu Republike Srbije u Čikagu. Interesantno je da Zoran Jovanović poslednje tri godine živi u Beogradu, a pre toga živeo je u Njujorku čak punih 20 godina.

Gosti Generalnog konzulata Republike Srbije u razgovoru sa karikaturistom Zoranom Jovanovicem (desno)

U Konzulatu u Čikagu publiika je imala priliku da vidi Jovanovićeve najbolje karikature nagradjene na medjunarodnim festivalima, medju kojima i karaikaturu ‘General sa krstovima’ koja je obeležila njegovu profesionalnu karijeru. U toku večeri emitovano je nekoliko kratkih animiranih filmova ‘Marksijanci’, ‘Zastave’ i ‘Antidogmin’, koji su takodje nagradjeni na medjunarodnim festivalima.

Razgovor sa poznatim karikaturistom u čikaškom Konzulatu vodio je konzul Dejan Radulović. On je predstavio Jovanovićevu najpoznatiju karikaturu ‘General sa krstovima’ prvi put objavljenu u Hamburgu 1965/66. Za tu karikaturu Zoran Jovanović dobio je 1967. Zlatnu palmu u Bordigeri u Italiji. ‘Ova snažna antiratna karikatura govori o tome kako neki ljudi prave karijeru preko mrtvih’, rekao je Jovanović.

Druga izložena karikatura ‘Zastave’ takodje ima antiratnu poruku i govori o slobodi govora i moći zastave i države da suzbije slobodu govora.

‘Karikature i animirani filmovi Zorana Jovanovića su uvek aktuelni. On već decenijama stvara, saradjuje sa najuglednijim listovima na prostorima bivsse Jugoslavije i objavljuje radove u mnogim svetskim listovima. Njegovi filmovi prikazani su na mnogim mejdunarodnim fetsivalima’, rekao je konzul Dejan Radulovic.

Druzenje i meze na kraju veceri

‘Uvek sam trazio umetnički izlaz iz autorskog problema. Kada sam učestvovao na autorskim festivalima dobijao sam interesantne komentare. Jedan od njih bio je da sam se bavio problemima koji potresaju savremeni svet – to je citat iz italijanske sstampe’, rekao je Jovanović.

U nastavku večeri ovaj reditelj crtanih filmova, karikaturista i slikar grafičar družio se publikom i odgovarao na njihova pitanja. On je govorio o svojim radovima i brojnim nagaradama koje su obeležile njegovu karijeru.

Pomenimo da su Jovanoviceva ostvarenja prikazana na festivalima u Oberhauzenu, Montrealu, Krakovu, Sidneju, Beogradu, Zagrebu, Londonu, Aspenu. Retrospektive crtanih filmova imao je u u kinotekama Harvarda, Tel Aviva, Jerusalima, Haife, u kulturnim centrima Bombaja, Nju Delhija, u studiju Volta Diznija.