Jazz Stage: MATJAZZ II (Slovenia, Austria)

Matjaž Dajčar, guitar
Vid Jamnik, vibraphon
Philipp Zarfl, double bass
Klemens Marktl, drums

The band Matjazz II is comprised of seasoned jazz musicians, guitarist Matjaž Dajčar, vibraphonist Vid Jamnik, bassist Philipp Zarfl, and drummer Klemens Marktl. In 2022 they released Matjazz II ‘Eyes Wide Open’. The songs from this album will be included in their repertoire.

Guitarist and theoretical physicist Matjaž Dajčar graduated with honours in jazz and popular music performance from the Linz Conservatory of Music, honed his skills at workshops, and studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz. He is also a skilled studio guitarist, producer, arranger, and composer having recorded with a variety of ensembles including his primary band – The Swingtones, the Samo Šalomon trio (A dream come true), Svetnik (Največji, Brez besed), Peter Andrej (Libero), Bambola (Bambola), Nostalgy (Live in CID), Bluestime (Live am Worthersee). The rich treasury of his live experience includes festivals like LENT, Summer Night in Ljubljana, Berlin Jazz Fest, Aarhus Jazz festival (Denmark), Linz Jazzfest (Austria), the Slovenian National Radio programme Izštekani and many others. He currently teaches jazz guitar at the Maribor Conservatory of Music and Ballet.

Vibraphonist Vid Jamnik graduated from the Carinthian State Conservatory. On the recommendation of world-renowned vibraphone player Gary Burton, he was accepted at Berklee College of Music in Boston to study with professors like Terence Blanchard, George Garzone, Ed Saindon, Kenny Werner, and Ralph Peterson. He received his masters’ degree from the Manhattan School of Music in New York, where he had studied with Joe Lock, Joel Ross, Stefon Harris, Mike Moreno, and Miguel Zenón. He played across the globe with noted musicians, the likes of Jimmy Cobb, John Riley, Georgie Fame, Jim Rotondi, Stefan Milenkovich, Gianni Basso, Duško Gojković, and JM Jazz World Orchestra under the leadership of Luisa Bonille. He is the founding member of quartet Urgent Detergent and the driving force behind Viva Jazz Forma, a project weaving the sounds of steel sculptures with electronic music. In 2014, he released his first album titled Last Minute! with Alessa Records, which he followed up with the Album Rajska ptica, recorded with singer Ajda Stina Turek.

After graduating with honours from the Carinthian State Conservatory, double bass player Philipp Zarfl enrolled at the Conservatory of Amsterdam to study with Frans der Hoeven, Ernst Glerum, and Ruud Ouwehand. He went on to finish his master’s degree at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. He played with a variety of musicians including known jazz players like David Hazeltine, Tim Armacost, Jim Rotondi, Rob Bargad, Danny Grissett, Ben van Gelder, Thomas Gansch, Ack van Rooijen, Brandford Marsalis, Owen Hart Jr., Wolfgang Puschnig, Igor Lumpert, Renato Cicco, Mario Gonzi, Roman Schwaller, Howard Curtis, Joris Dudli, Cathy Rocco, and Ryan Hanselaar. He played in Germany, Switzerland, Slovenia, Ukraine, Belgium, France, Slovakia, and the Netherlands. His playing can be heard on albums, such as Long Way (Tone Janša), Tribute to Udo Jürgens (Jörg Seidel), The Gift (Fiona Fergusson), Peter Primus Frosch (Peter Frosch), Sunday Evening (Lorrenzo Bonucci), Retrospection (Raphael Käfer), and Crocosmia (Urs Hager).

Austrian drummer Klemens Marktl first delved into the realm of music at age six through the medium of piano. In his teenage years, however, he replaced the keys with drumsticks and never looked back. This was the first step on the voyage of his successful music career. Already at 21 years old, he graduated from the Conservatory in Klagenfurt and dedicated himself to exploring a variety of drumming styles. He derived his most formative experience learning from jazz legends Jimmy Cobb and Jimmy Wormsworth. He got his skills in contemporary jazz styles from masters like Kenny Washington, Lewis Nash, Jeff ‘Tain’ Watts, John Riley, Tony Moreno, Ralph Peterson Jr., Ali Jackson, Rodney Green, Jonathan Blake, while he expanded his knowledge of Latino beats with Mark Walker, Vanderlei Pereira, and Portinho adding a pinch of funk under the tutelage of Adam Deitch. he spent more than half a decade studying in the Netherlands at the conservatories of the Hague and Amsterdam. During this time, he released his first album and made his name as one of the foremost drummers and band leaders. He spent the next stage of his life in New York, where he also wasted no time establishing himself on the local jazz scene and recording an album with his newly founded quartet (Chris Cheek, Aaron Goldberg, and Matt Penman). By the end of 2004 he returned to his native Austria and made his homebase in Vienna and recorded a series of successful albums. At this cultural hub, he quickly became one of Europe’s most sought-after jazz drummers. A skilful composer, arranger and a revered educator, he is currently adjunct professor at the Vienna Music Institute and professor of Jazz Drum Studies at the Conservatory in Klagenfurt.

Admission free.

In the event of rain, the concert will be moved to Slamič café on Kersnikova street 1.

In collaboration with: