About
Zoran Majstorovic is a jazz musician, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, arranger, and composer. He began playing guitar at the age of nine under the guidance of his father, Slavko Majstorović, an active figure on the Rijeka rock scene during the 1960s and 1970s, best known for his work with the band Pauci.By the age of twelve, Zoran was already performing in his first demo bands, and at fourteen he became a member of the pop-rock group Teens. With Teens, he performed hundreds of concerts across...
Zoran Majstorovic is a jazz musician, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, arranger, and composer. He began playing guitar at the age of nine under the guidance of his father, Slavko Majstorović, an active figure on the Rijeka rock scene during the 1960s and 1970s, best known for his work with the band Pauci.
By the age of twelve, Zoran was already performing in his first demo bands, and at fourteen he became a member of the pop-rock group Teens. With Teens, he performed hundreds of concerts across several countries, won numerous awards at both Croatian and international festivals — including the prestigious Porin award in 2000 — and released three albums, two of which achieved silver certification. He remained with the group until 2002.
From 2002 onward, Zoran has participated in a wide variety of musical projects, performing with numerous orchestras and collaborating with many prominent Croatian and international artists. In addition to working with many Croatian jazz and world music musicians, he has recorded and performed with internationally renowned jazz artists such as Corey Christiansen, Pat O’Leary, John Stowell, Russ Spiegel, James Weinstein, James Thompson, Asaf Sirkis, Yaron Stavi, Oleg Kireyev, Carlos Werneck, Takatsuna Mukai, U.T. Gandhi, David Boato, Giorgio Pacorig, Tommaso Cappellato, Dario Carnovale, Alfonso Deidda, Andre Araujo, Wilmer Sifontes, Alvise Seggi, Luca Colussi, Simone Serafini, Jacob Melchior, Goran Moskowsky, Joe Kaplowitz, Rosa Brunello, Eldar Saparayev, Marcello Benetti, Alessandro Turchet, Michele Bonivento, Aleksandar Ipavec, Stefano di Grigoli, Igor Checchini, Moulaye Niang…
He has also collaborated with internationally acclaimed vocalists such as Gabrielle Stravelli, Lino Rocha, Ty Le Blanc, Pastora Soler, David Elliot, Marcina Arnold, Simon Marlow, Teti Cortese, Heloisa Lourenco, Francesca Viaro, and Lela Kaplowitz.
Zoran holds a Master’s degree with top honors from the Jazz Department of the G. Tartini Conservatory in Trieste, Italy. He has furthered his education by attending seminars led by many world-famous guitarists — including Marc Ribot, Robben Ford, Scott Henderson, Sid Jacobs, and Kurt Rosenwinkel — as well as other renowned instrumentalists such as Jeff Berlin, Dennis Chambers, Steve Gadd, Jarrod Cagwin, Bjorn Meyer, and Keith Tippett.
An exceptionally active jazz guitarist and multi-instrumentalist (besides guitar, he performs on oud, saz, charango, pipa, tamburica, cindra, mandolin, ukulele, sitar, and others), Zoran has composed, arranged, and recorded for numerous albums and projects spanning various genres. He has published books of transcriptions and has performed at major jazz festivals and venues throughout Croatia, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, Slovenia, North Macedonia, Germany, Hungary, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Finland, and Estonia.
He is the recipient of two major awards for instrumental excellence: the Damir Dičić Award for Best Croatian Jazz Guitarist, and the Status Award for Best Croatian Ethno Musician in 2013.
Zoran leads two of his own projects — ZM Loose Trio and Atma Mundi Ensemble — and is an active member of numerous other groups and collaborations, including Voices of Nature, Kljaković Eklektik Company, Olja’zz Band, Art Pollution Trio, Galere di Fiandra e di Siria, The Latefour Quartet, MASEWE Trio, Fog Painters, Gabrielle Stravelli Quartet, Up Close & Personal Quartet, Arakne Group, and Max Trabucco Quartet.
As an arranger in the field of jazz and improvised music, Zoran has written for ensembles such as the HRT Jazz Orchestra Zagreb, Big T Band (conducted by Klaus Gesing), HGM Jazz Orchestra Zagreb (conducted by Sigi Feigl), Orchestra Laboratorio (directed by Giovanni Maier), JazzIstra Orchestra, The Wildflowers, GG Samobor, and Borna Šercar’s Jazziana Croatica. He also composes and arranges music for his own ensembles and for nearly all the projects in which he performs as an instrumentalist.
His creative scope extends beyond jazz and world music into the realms of sound art and experimental performance, exploring sound as an artistic material through site-specific concerts and interdisciplinary collaborations. These include performances at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Rijeka (MMSU), the Dispersion project by Spanish artist Laura Lanelli, the ŠTIKLA concert series of sound art and improvised music in Rijeka, and performances with his improvisational collective Art Pollution.
In addition to his extensive performing career, Zoran is also dedicated to education — teaching, conducting workshops and masterclasses, and participating in the organization of various jazz, world music, and improvised music events, as well as sound art projects.
His recordings have been released by leading Croatian and international labels, including Croatia Records, IDM Music, Dallas Records, Aquarius Records, Orfej, LAD Records, HIT Records, and Birdland Sound.
