Primož Grašič

For more than three decades Primož Grašič has played jazz clubs, recording studios, festivals, big bands and symphony orchestras all around the world. Since 1990 he has been a soloist with the RTV Slovenia Big Band. He has played more than 2,000 concerts, recorded as a leader and appeared on more than 300 albums as a sideman, arranger and producer.

A life in the music

Guitarist Primož Grašič studied guitar at the Klagenfurt Conservatory in Austria. Following his studies, he joined the Greentown Jazz Band (serving as a permanent member from 1989 to 1998), having previously performed with the Kranj Dixieland Band. From 1991 to 1993, he was a member of the Ugrin–Divjak Quintet. Since September 1990, he has been a permanent member and soloist of both the RTV Slovenia Big Band and the RTV Slovenia Entertainment Orchestra.

Throughout his career, Grašič has performed and recorded with numerous renowned ensembles and artists, including the Boško Petrović All-Stars, Ratko Divjak Ensemble, Dominik Krajnčan Quartet, Boško Petrović Trio, and the New Swing Quartet backing band. As an active studio musician, he has recorded extensively with the RTV Slovenia Big Band, the RTV Slovenia Pop/Symphony Orchestras, and the New Swing Quartet.

Grašič has received multiple awards and recognitions as an arranger in the pop and jazz genres. In 1995, he was nominated for the Zlati Petelin (Golden Rooster) music award for Best Foreign Song Arrangement. He also performed with Jože Privšek's Orchestra at major concerts in Portorož and Cankarjev Dom.

In July 1993, he performed at Umbria Jazz in Perugia, Italy, one of Europe's premier jazz festivals. As a solo artist and member of the Greentown Jazz Band and B.P. Club All-Stars, he has toured internationally at festivals across the US, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, the UK, Ireland, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Serbia, North Macedonia and beyond.

In October 1994, he represented Slovenia as a member of the EBU Big Band in Amsterdam under conductors Jerry van Rooijen and Henk Meutgeert. Over the course of his career, he has shared the stage and studio with international jazz icons:

N.H.Ø. Pedersen, Buster Williams, Martin Drew, Alvin Queen, Gianni Basso, Toots Thielemans, Jimmy Woode, Clark Terry, Johnny Griffin, Duško Gojković, Steve Gut, Boško Petrović, Csaba Deseő, Jesse Davis, Ulf Wakenius, Philip Catherine, Bobby Durham, Massimo Faraò, Curtis Fuller, Dado Moroni, Manfred Josel, Ewald Oberleitner, Tone Janša, Red Holloway, Steve Swallow, Dennis Mackrel, Ed Thigpen, Ray Brown, Georgie Fame, Helen Merrill, Gary Burton, Bruce Adams, Peter Mihelič, Mark Elf, Lasse Lindgren, Petar Ugrin, Mornington Lockett, David Gazarov, Richard Buckley, Ratko Divjak, Lew Soloff, Alan Skidmore, Nigel Hitchcock, George Makinto, Fritz Pauer, Emil Spanyi, Mike Stern, Lenny White and many others.

As a member of the RTV Slovenia Big Band, he has worked under distinguished conductors including Peter Herbolzheimer, Herb Pomeroy, Jerry van Rooijen, David de Villiers, Walter Proost, David Murray, Mathias Rüegg, Sigi Feigl, Michel Legrand, and guest directors Ack van Rooijen and Maria Schneider.

Then to now

1. 1995Guest artist on the Azur Jazz Cruise led by trumpeter Clark Terry, alongside Ray Brown, Ed Thigpen and Curtis Fuller. Formed the Primož Grašič Trio and recorded a CD in Zagreb with N.H.Ø. Pedersen and Martin Drew, nominated for Best Jazz Album of the Year in Croatia.
2. 1996European Jazz Night, in a trio with bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Dennis Mackrel.
3. 1997EBU Big Band in Ljubljana under Jože Privšek, then a trio with Steve Swallow and Ratko Divjak at the Ljubljana Jazz Festival. Zlati Petelin '97, Slovenia's top national music award in the jazz category, for Noč ima tisoč oči (The Night Has a Thousand Eyes) with the Primož Grašič Quartet. In October, an album for Jazzette Records with Ulf Wakenius and Philip Catherine, backed by N.H.Ø. Pedersen and Martin Drew.
4. 1998Toured Italy with the Grašič–Ugrin Quintet featuring David Gazarov; guest at the Zagreb and Ljubljana jazz festivals. With the B.P. All-Stars at the Cork Jazz Festival (Ireland) and in Sarajevo.
5. 1999Recorded on Ratko Divjak's Caravan, Dominik Krajnčan's Bab'n'gabn and the RTV Slovenia Big Band album Hunski hrbti (conducted by Milko Lazar); played with Fritz Pauer in the Happy Reunion Quartet. Under Maria Schneider at the Ljubljana Jazz Festival, on tour with George Makinto, guest soloist with the Damir Dičić Big Band in Zagreb, and back in Cork with the B.P. All-Stars and Lew Soloff.
6. 2000With UK saxophonists Alan Skidmore and Nigel Hitchcock, and trombonist Herman Breuer. Solo album Moja želja – My Wish with the RTV Slovenia Big Band and Entertainment Orchestra. In December, the Maribor Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Lalo Schifrin.
7. 2001Johnny Griffin; Copenhagen Jazz Festival; three concerts in Tehran with the Manfred Josel Quintet; Novi Sad Jazz Festival.
8. 2002–2003Kumanovo Jazz Festival; soloist with the RTV Slovenia Big Band and the B.P. Trio at Novi Sad (released on CD); Dubrovnik Summer Festival with the Rucner Quartet and Peter Soave; Porgy & Bess in Vienna; Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue arranged for guitar and symphony orchestra at Cankarjev dom, conducted by David de Villiers.
9. 2004Co-founded Jazz Kamp Kranj with his brother Gregor Grašič: international masterclasses and concerts in Kranj.
10. 2005Official international Yamaha Artist endorsement.
11. 2006Gorenjska Prešeren Award for cultural achievement.
12. 2009Lincoln Center, New York, with Lenny White, Buster Williams and George Colligan.
13. 2011Founded the online guitar and improvisation academy GRP Guitar Lessons. University of Ljubljana's highest cultural award.
14. 2012Studio album with British vocalist and keyboardist Georgie Fame. Established GRP Studio, working as composer, producer, guitarist and audio engineer (more than 50 projects recorded).
15. 2013A project with Italian guitarist Mike Sponza, conducting the Central European Orchestra, released on CD and DVD.
16. 2015Solo double album Two Faces: original compositions on disc one, jazz standards for students on disc two.
17. 2019Primož and Gregor Grašič received the Prešeren Award of the Municipality of Kranj for Jazz Kamp Kranj.

Festivals and venues

• USA and Canada: Lincoln Center (New York), San Francisco, Sacramento, Lodi, Reading, LA Jazz Festival, Vancouver, Victoria B.C.
• Germany and Austria: Dresden, Essen, Hanover, Frankfurt, Freiburg, Porgy & Bess (Vienna)
• Switzerland and France: Bern, Biel, St. Raphael
• UK and Ireland: Cork Jazz Festival
• Nordics: Copenhagen Jazz Festival, Aarhus Jazz Festival
• Italy: Umbria Jazz (Perugia), Vittorio Veneto
• Southeast Europe: Ljubljana, Jazz Kamp Kranj, Križanke, Lent, Zagreb, Varaždin, Grožnjan, Dubrovnik, Novi Sad, Sarajevo, Kumanovo
• Elsewhere: Tehran (Iran), Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic), Budapest and Nagykanizsa (Hungary)

Work and teaching

• 35+ years as lead soloist of the RTV Slovenia Big Band
• 2,000+ concerts
• 4,000+ studio recordings and contributions to 300+ albums
• Film score guitarist on 5+ major film productions
• 250+ registered original compositions and arrangements
• Founder and artistic director of Jazz Kamp Kranj (since 2004): annual international summer masterclasses with 60+ students and 10 faculty members
• Founder of GRP Guitar Lessons, an online school with more than 250 video lessons and weekly live sessions
• Private instruction, preparing students for entry into Europe's leading music conservatories
• Lecturer in improvisation at the Academy of Music, University of Ljubljana (2010)
• Workshops, masterclasses and seminars around the world

Awards

• Yamaha Artist, official endorsement
• Highest national cultural award for guitar performance (Slovenia)
• Prešeren Award of the Municipality of Kranj (individual, and for Jazz Kamp Kranj)
• Gorenjska Prešeren Award for culture
• University of Ljubljana cultural achievement award
• Zlati Petelin (Slovenian Golden Rooster), best jazz album, Noč ima tisoč oči
• Best jazz album award (Croatia)
• Slovenska popevka 2012: jury and audience winner
• RTV Slovenia lifetime contribution award
• Best song award and best jazz performer award (Portorož, Slovenia)

Ensembles

RTV Slovenia Big Band and Entertainment Orchestra · Primož Grašič Trio, Quartet and Quintet · EBU Big Band (Amsterdam 1994, Slovenia 1997) · Greentown Jazz Band and Dixieland Band Kranj · B.P. Convention, B.P. All-Stars and B.P. Trio · NHOP Trio · Janez Bončina & Friends · Lenny White Quartet and Georgie Fame Trio · Mike Sponza & European Jazz Orchestra · Maribor Philharmonic Orchestra (conducted by Lalo Schifrin) · Petar Ugrin – Ratko Divjak Quintet · Manfred Josel Quintet and Erich Bachträgl Trio

Press photographs, technical rider and press kit on request.