Ilija Nikolic

I was first exposed to jazz in high school, when as a young pianist, I started to get more into "jazz chords". My friend's dad gave me Head Hunters by Herbie Hancock, which changed everything. The magical reverb and delay sound of Herbie's Rhodes, the crisp drum of Lenny and Mike and the groovy bass of Paul Jackson set a standard for me that remained with me to these days. Spectrum by Billy Cobham and Return to Forever became my favorites when I started to realize their connection to Miles, Wayne Shorter, and pianists like McCo Turnery, Bill Evans, Kenny Barron and later through Branford Marsalis - Kenny Kirkland, Calderazzo, Malgrew Miller and newer cats like Robert Glasper. Somehow, I was lucky to meet Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Brian Blade Dave Holland many others and we talked about music, art and life. It is hard for me to pick one show that was my favorite (I saw many since I was spending all my money in NY to see my favorite artists). Still, the most monumental and amazing on all levels was Jamiroquai in in Budapest in 1999. The first jazz record I bought was a CD by Oscar Peterson - Motions and Emotions. I still love that album, which also helped me discover bossa nova and Jobim. My advice to new listeners - listen different periods and try to compare certain jazz standards played by different giants of jazz throughout time. My advice to young musicians who are getting into jazz - transcribing jazz solos by ear and listen to different music genres besides jazz. That will help you make your own music.