Vladan Milenkovic Trio, Spring 2024
Vladan Milenkovic
Image courtesy of the artist
Associate Professor of Piano Vladan Milenkovic will be performing a set of specially selected pieces with his trio, featuring percussionist Salil Sachdev and violinist Jozef Nadj.
The rhythm section of this world/jazz/fusion trio is comprised of Vladan Milenkovic on piano and keyboards along with Indian-born percussionist Salil Sachdev, whose instruments include cajon, hang, djembe, water drum, and other percussion. Milenkovic and Sachdev have previously collaborated as part of the world music trio Caravan, and serve together on the music faculty at Bridgewater State University.
Joining Milenkovic as a soloist is Jozef Nadj, a fellow Serbian-born Berklee faculty member, specializing in electronic techniques with the violin. Milenkovic and Nadj teach in the piano and string/ensemble departments, respectively. Together, Milenkovic and Nadj play in the latter’s funk-fusion band, the Groove Machine.
The program takes inspiration from the world/jazz/fusion groups Shakti and Oregon in addition to various ECM recordings, and incorporates a hint of jazz manouche, a genre like the Indo-European languages spanning from India to France, not excluding the Balkans. Along with traditional and Gypsy Balkan folk tunes and works by modern jazz composers, the program features original compositions by the trio members.