Vasil Hadžimanov, pianist
Tenacious, ever-present, and a musician of endless work energy and musicality, Vasil Hadžimanov, a pianist, composer, arranger, producer, and educator, is an essential and connecting link of Serbian jazz from the end of the twentieth century and the beginning of the new millennium. He carries within himself a binding line of genes from his ancestors who, each in their own way, left their mark on the music of the Balkans as an unbreakable chain of guardians, interpreters, and new exponents of tradition. Ever since the first lessons that the renowned double bassist and composer Vojin Draškoci gave him with great patience, introducing him to the world of jazz, Hadžimanov has followed his world of unique colors and sounds.
After studying at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, that unique jazz music institution, Hadžimanov decided to return to his country where he soon founded his own “Vasil Hadžimanov Band”, with which he performed in clubs throughout Serbia in the early 1990s.
Since band’s first lineup to the present day, “Vasil Hadzimanov Band” has gone through several sonic and personal transformations, remaining true to the principal of giving each band member full autonomy, full support for independent expression, whether it is the choice of repertoire or solo performance. From the first album 11 razloga za… (2001), through the album Can You Dig It? (2013), to the album Lines in Sand (2019), and Keyf (2023), Vasil Hadžimanov appears as a confident follower of contemporary trends, progressive sound, and fusion of different musical genres that he successfully combines into what we could call world music today In addition to larger ensembles, Hadžimanov also performs successfully in smaller formations, predominantly in the form of jazz trios, while being a full member of several different groups- Trio Sveti (with Marko Đorđević and Branko Trijić), Toni Kitanovski Trio, Bace Quartet, Csaba Toth Bagi Balkan Union, Miško Plavi trio, Theodossi Spassov, his own Piano Jazz Trio with Martin Djakonovski and Alek Sekulovski, and many others.
Throughout his long career, the Vasil Hadžmanov Band has released eight albums, many of which have achieved impressive sales and numerous positive reviews worldwide and in the time of global discography crisis in the domain of classical, jazz, and artistic music in general. Beside recording music with his Band, Hadžimanov also recorded albums with his trio “El Raval” (2011) and “Melody Rhymes” (2021).
In 2016, the World Music Association of Serbia and the magazine Etnoumlje released a compilation CD to celebrate Vasil Hadžimanov’s 25 years of work.
Since 2011, Vasil has been teaching as a guest professor and head of the jazz piano department at the Music Academy in Štip (Macedonia), and since 2020, he has been teaching as a professor at the Academy of Arts, University in Novi Sad. He is involved in educational work privately, as well as in numerous workshops, including the international project Tutti, in cooperation with the Norwegian Ministry of Culture.
In 2015, Vasil Hadžimanov became a moderator and host of a music-educational series on RTV Vojvodina called “M Lab.” Many renowned musicians such as David Binney, Bojan Zulfikarpašić, Koja (Disciplina Kitschme), Zoran Kostić Cane (Partibrejkersi), Zafir Hadžimaov, Toni Kitanovski, and many others were guests on the show.
That same year, he began collaborating with Bojan Zulfikarpašić, and the two of them performed as a piano duo in Belgrade, Novi Sad, and Paris, receiving unanimously excellent reviews from the audience and critics. The piano duo released their first live CD in December 2017, which was also promoted at a concert at Kolarac Endowment.
In 2016, Hadžimanov started collaboration with Croatian pianist Matija Dedić in a successful piano duo that continues to perform throughout the region today.
In 2022, all three of them unite and perform as a piano trio with a premiere concert in Novi Sad, the European Capital of Culture, as part of the “At the Crossroads” project.
Vasil Hadžimanov’s sound reflects his desire to fuse Balkan motifs with jazz in a way that is both direct and sincere, rather than relying on clichéd folkloric elements. He draws on his rich experience in folk music, which he believes “should not be ashamed of but instead supported and given more space.”
In addition to numerous concerts and performances throughout the former Yugoslavia and internationally, Hadžimanov also composes film music for a variety of documentaries, movies, and TV series.
As a key figure in the national music history during a period of disappointing production that failed to support genuine artistic values, Vasil Hadžimanov has taken inspiration from his predecessors and created an authentic musical expression that has been recognized in Serbia as significant cultural works.
All releases and music by Vasil Hadžimanov have been proclaimed as works of art of cultural significance for Serbia.