Bio

Saxophonist and composer, Nikola Spasojević, brings an eclectic combination of influences to his improvisations and compositions expressed through the language of contemporary jazz. Nikola has studied jazz standards and jazz originals from different eras of the music’s history as part of his musical journey. Recently, he has been working on his own original music which fuses jazz and electronic music as well as the original music of his peers in various jazz and jazz fusion projects. Nikola has been inspired by many different musicians, but regarding saxophone playing, some of the key influences are John Coltrane, David Binney and Donny McCaslin.

  Nikola began playing classical saxophone when he was just 9 years old in Subotica, Serbia and won several competitions including the International Saxophone Competition “Davorin Jenko” at Belgrade, and the Serbian Republic Saxophone Competition. In high school, he switched to jazz and began performing with his peers in Serbia. He played original compositions with the groups “Iz Principa” at well known Serbian jazz festivals like Nišville, Pančevo Jazz Festival and Jazzik in Subotica. He also sat in with the Novi Sad Big Band at the Novi Sad jazz festival, at the Serbian National Theatre. 

Later, he moved to Rotterdam (NL) to pursue his undergraduate degree at Codarts University of the Arts. There he performed with various school ensembles including the Codarts Big Band with whom he performed at the Jazz International Rotterdam festival. He led his own groups, and he performed with one at the Brand New Jazz Festival at Lantaren Venster. Furthermore, he performed at Tivoli Vrendenburg in Utrecht last with the band Klankpoeder with which he later recorded an album entitled Vauwmakreel which was released in 2023.

In 2022, Spasojevic moved to New York City to continue his studies at New York University. There he is finishing his master's in jazz performance. While at NYU, he has had the opportunity to perform at well-known venues like the Blue Note with the Dezron Douglas ensemble, the Frederick Loewe Theater with the NYU Jazz Orchestra and the Provincetown Playhouse with the David Liebman ensemble. He also leads his own group and performs as a side man at a variety of clubs and bars around the city. Recently he recorded his first album as a band leader, which he plans to release sometime next summer!

Projects

The Nikola Spasojevic Electric Quartet is a band made up of diverse, but interconnected musical personalities that converge into the band’s distinctive voice amid the vibrant New York contemporary jazz scene. The band blends genres like jazz, funk, Brazilian music and Balkan music, combining synthesizers and effects to create a unique variant of jazz fusion.The group’s sound is inspired by jazz fusion artists of the past like Wayne Shorter and Chick Corea, as well as more recent musicians like David Binney and Donny Mccaslin. However, their influences are not limited to the genre and include recordings of Brazilian music, Balkan Music, funk, rock, and so on. The saxophone’s processed melodies lead the ensemble and dictate much of the rhythmic content. The keys both support the melody with lead sounds reminiscent of older fusion albums and Nintendo video games. They also provide harmonic coloring with Rhodes sounds and accompaniment. The bass is the stabilizing factor repeating a groovy rhythmic pattern that doesn’t overpower the rest of the instruments. And the drums are both stable at times, but also add interest accenting parts of the melody implying different rhythmic groupings. The group’s first album, “Poor Man’s Summer”, includes the funky Terminal 1, the melancholy and longing Boswijck, the energetic and danceable Poor Man’s Summer, the Brazilian flavoured, dizzy Deep Blue, the melodic and harmonically dense Dimitrijo Sine Mitre; and the dark, poetic vocal feature Storm. “Poor Man’s Summer” is their first studio album recorded at the James Dolan recording studio in New York City and it will be released on June 8th 2025 on all platforms! Stay tuned for tour dates and further updates.

Produced by Daniel Rodriguez and Nikola Spasojevic. Recorded by Rave Rajan at Dolan Recording Studio, New York City, NY, 12/08/2024. Mixed and Mastered by Grady Bajorek of Samurai Hotel Studios, Astoria, Queens, New York. All compositions by Nikola Spasojevic © 2024, published through ASCAP. Except Dimitrijo Sine Mitre by Stana Avramovic Karaminga which is in the public domain. Arrangements by Nikola Spasojevic. Lyrics for Storm taken from a poem of the same title by Sergei Yesenin which is in the public domain. Cover photography by Geraldine Osorio. Session photography by David Blake. Videos by David Blake. Album design by Nikola Spasojevic. Musicians: Yueyang Chen - keyboard and synth, Alvin Liao - electric bass, Julen Rodriguez - drums, Sonia Baturina - vocals * only on track 6 - Storm, Nikola Spasojevic - alto and soprano saxophone. Thank you to: Daniel Rodriguez, Yueyang Chen, Alvin Liao, Julen Rodriguez, Sonia Baturina, Teddy Kingsbury, Rave Rajan, David Blake, Sandra Finley, Miodrag Spasojevic, and others for your support creating this album.

Shows

9/20/2024

Thermostat Coffee Bar

210 Flatbush Ave,

New York, NY

11/30/2024

07:00 - 09:00PM ET

07:00 - 09:00PM ET

Nook

45 Irving Ave,

New York, NY

07:00 - 09:00PM ET

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