SORIN ZLAT QUARTET
(Cancel-lat)Endurance Jazz Concert
Presented by Sorin Zlat Quartet
Sponsored by the Romanian Cultural Institute
The Sorin Zlat Quartet, comprising Sorin Zlat Jr. piano, Mihaela Alexa, Vocals, Dario Guibert Montana, Double Bass, and Miguel Benito, Drums invites you to join them on an unforgettable musical journey. With performances all over the world and just returned from a successful tour in the United States, the Sorin Zlat Quartet brings you a varied repertoire which includes personal compositions, as well as renowned music standards rearranged to reflect their unique interpretative style. Their style is a surprising fusion of Latin, flamenco, and classical music styles combined with jazz and the melodious sounds of the Romanian doinas. They have performed in numerous concerts such as: United States (New York - Birdland, Smalls, Houston, Austin, New Orleans); Europe: Paris (Goethe Institute), Brussels (Music Village, Jazz Station), Budapest (Music Center), Berlin( B Flat, Schlot), London (Vortex, King’s Place), Switzerland, Turkey, Holland, Japan, Spain, Italy, Denmark, Israel; Romania (Garana Jazz Festival, Johnny Raducanu Jazz Festival, Bucharest Jazz Festival).
Sorin Zlat Jr. (Piano) is an international award-winning jazz pianist, classical clarinetist, composer, and arranger. He started his performing career at the young age of thirteen when he was featured as a soloist with the Romanian Philharmonic Orchestra “Mihail Jora”. Inspired by his father and grandfather, two accomplished European musicians, Sorin went on to pursue a Master’s Degree in Piano Jazz from which he graduated Summa Cum Laude. As a young graduate, he created a repertoire comprising pieces of standard jazz and personal compositions, ranging through Latin and jazz, pop, and classical music, and which is orchestrated to reflect a unique interpretative style. With musical influences from Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, and John Coltrane, his imaginative approach gained him instant recognition on the European and North American jazz scene. He is the winner of over twenty national and international awards, including the Grand Prize and Prize of the Public at the 2013 Monaco Jazz Competition, the Grand Prize at the 2011 Europafest Jazz Competition, and the Grand Prize at the 2015 Montreux Jazz Competition, just to quote a few. In 2015, he travelled to the United States where he won the Jacksonville Jazz Piano competition. After being selected from 200 applicants worldwide, as part of a 5 finalists group, Sorin won the competition with an amazing rendition of John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps” and by playing two of his own compositions. What it is worthy to mention here is that he is the first not only Romanian but also international pianist to ever win this event that has a tradition of over 30 years. In the summer of the same year, Sorin launched his album “Endurance”, a beautiful dedication to family, love, and unity in times of hardships. Sorin also won the award for the Best Jazz Musician in our country for the last two consecutive years and was a finalist for the National Diplomacy Award in honor of all his accomplishments and for being a worldwide ambassador for Romania through his music. The summer of 2016, he has been commissioned by the Rimbaud and Verlaine Foundation to develop an original jazz concert inspired by the poets’ works and which debuted last October at the London’s reputable Kings Place Hall where it was received with great acclaim by both the public and critics. Sorin is touring the world as composer-pianist performing his composition as well as jazz standards, masterly interpreted in his inimitable style. A believer in continuously stretching his creative capabilities and expanding his knowledge, he is currently involved in numerous projects, from being commissioned for a jazz symphony to composing music for the film industry.