JURE SLAPAR

GUITARIST/COMPOSER

BIOGRAPHY

Jure Slapar is a 26-year-old Slovenian guitarist, composer, and improviser active on the international jazz, beat, and fusion music scenes, both as a bandleader and a sideman. He is a three-time recipient of the Golden Plaque and First Prize at the TEMSIG competition for young musicians. Throughout his career, he has had the opportunity to work and perform with world-renowned artists such as Kurt Rosenwinkel, Aydin Esen, Kendrick Scott, Lionel Loueke, Linda May Han Oh, Miguel Zenón, Kris Davis, Peter Evans, Doug Weiss, Footprint Project, WNBL, Chris Cheek, Sara Serpa, Malcolm Braff, and Django Bates, among others.

He began his musical journey at the age of eight by studying classical guitar. After seven years of classical training, Jure developed a strong interest in jazz and improvisation, which led him to continue his studies at the Conservatory of Music and Ballet in Ljubljana. He later continued his studies at Jazz Campus Basel, where he studied with Lionel Loueke and Wolfgang Muthspiel, and at the Jazz Institute Berlin, where his mentors included Paulo Morello, David Friedman, and Greg Cohen. He completed his undergraduate degree with honors.

For the 2023/2024 season, he was selected for the prestigious FocusYear program in Basel, where he toured Europe with the selected ensemble, performing alongside internationally acclaimed musicians and recorded an album of original compositions called “Nine Realms”.

Currently, Jure is continuing his Master’s degree at Berklee College of Music, one of the most prestigious music academies in the world. Among fierce competition from talented musicians worldwide he was selected as one of twenty students to study at Berklee’s prestigious Global Jazz Institute.

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