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Born 02.04.1990. in Belgrade, Serbia. Coming from an artistic family
Knezevic( famous painters ).
After 2 years at the music school `Dr.Vojislav Vuckovic` they
transferred her as a very talented young
student to the school `Mokranjac`where she graduated in the class of
professor Jasna Vukasovic at the
Classical Piano Performance department,as well as the department for
Theory in Music in the class of
Professor Radmila Starcevic. Since she was always interested in Jazz,
together with graduating at those
two departments in Mokranjac she was attending another high school
program at the Jazz Singing
department in `Stankovic`. She was awarded the title of The Best
Pianist among all the candidates from
countries of Eastern Europe when she finished the exams for the final
year of regular elementary school
in ahead of schedule – in one month total – because she has enrolled
secondary music school
``Mokranjac`` in the previous year. That`s why she was already 1 year
ahead of her class. On the IQ
test, and Musical IQ test she was the only one with the above average
for the regular IQ, and one of 2
people with above average results for the Musical IQ.
She graduated high school a year earlier the same way like she did
with her elementary school, because
she was one of the 2 accepted singers from around 300 at the entrance
examination at the University of
Music and Performing Arts in Graz (Universität für Musik und
Darstellende Kunst), Austria, one of the
best universities in the world for Jazz music. She was accepted as a
young 16,5 year old talent, the
youngest student in the history of the University.
Since she was 7 she was performing around Europe, with a group
`Kolibri` as a soloist, and in a group
of singers. Favorised by Milica Manojlovic who was personally
interested in making Sofija a great
performer, Sofija performed at many large
venues,churches,festivals,halls in Italy, Slovenia and many
countries more. She had numerous performances in her hometown Belgrade
with Kolibri,10 concerts in
Kolarac, 4 in Sava Centar, 4 at the National Theater, National
Museum,galeries and more. As well as
performing in castles and churches very important for the history of
music like Studenica,Fruskogorski
Manastiri etc.
While she was still in the primary school she won many awards at
numerous competitions in many
subjects ( history, drawing, literature,
languages(Greek,Serbian,English,Spanish,German) biology,
reciting ). As a multitalented child she was always coming home with a
first prize. While being still in
primary school she was the editor in chief of the Magazine `Vuk`. At
the same time she was involved in
the parlament of Education and she worked with many well known people
in culture in Stari Grad.
With all those competitions,writing and playing piano at the age of 12
she won a prize `Golden
Mermaid` for the best young singer in the country. And also the next
year as a leader of the vocal group
that she put together for the next competition. With her groups
including Kolibri and Krsmanovic, she
recorded several cd`s that were published by RTS Records. And also
filmed for the New Year program
for the national TV. Since she was one of the five kids in her family
she was raised to help and give to
the charities. So she ran the track many times, and was involved in
many charity
events for the Red Cross Organization.
At the same time she had a debut of her Musical Play written for Romeo
and Juliet in English language
that took place at the Oldest Theater Hall in Belgrade,Serbia when she
was 13 years old. A few month
after that she organized a show in Nakovo,Vojvodina for the kids
moving to another city to continue
their education. Attendance on that show was unbelievably huge. And it
was made of a several
competitions in music,dance,quizz and retorical abilities competition.
After finishing the 8th grade of
her primary education in one month, with the support of the pianist
family Sandorov she continues her
schooling in Mokranjac, where besides attending those 2 departments
she leads the choir and records 2
CD`s for RTS. Since they recorded arrangements of Serbian Folk songs
it caught a lot of media
attention, so she did many interviews and shows connected with those
CD`s. During that time she also
sang in the choir of international conductor Jana Minov, and they won
a 1st prize at the world choir
competition in Shangai.
She also sang with her best friend and a composer Stefan Djokovic at
the Junior
Eurovision contest. She was a part of a spectacle happening on the
anniversary of Mozart`s death in
Sava Centar, and also sang in the play `Who Is Afraid Of Virginia
Woolf`. She was one of the 7 actors
in the movie `NASCENCY` filmed about her family ( by Vlada Perovic
).And that movie won a
several documentary competitions including the big award in Cezch
Republic , which gave the director
funds to film the second part of the movie in 2013/2014. Sofija was
also a part of another family
creation, making the first Mural in Bar, Montenegro when she was 6
years old (Barski Ljetopis
Festival).
Sofija played classical piano on over 20 concerts, exhibitions and
many otherpublic events. Interested
in computers in technology, she won a 1st prize at the informatics
competition in her high school.
In her first year of jazz studies in Stankovic she is singing at the
concert on the Public Square for the
celebration of a national holiday with Jelena Jovovic,Brazillian
Affair,Girls from
Imapanema,Beogradski Sindikat. She was a part of the famous jazz
matinee`s at the Kalemegdan
Castle. While being in 2 high schools at 4 departments,she attended
many workshops including the one
with a couple of worlds best percussionists in Bitef Theater, which
were followed with the concerts at
the same venue. Also during that time she had a chance to teach
international visiting students with the
National Musicians Organisation. And that CD is recorded for NMO.
As we already know, she was involved in many charity events, therefore
she held 2 big concerts in
Mokranjac for 2 teenagers that needed urgent help for the heart
surgery. And also the concert in Sava
Centar for the homeless children. With the same program she held
concerts in Stankovic Hall, SKC
Hall. Where she met Stjepko Gut and Aria Hendricks ( Jon Hendrick`s
daughter ) where she sang with
them in jazz club `Ptica`. After that she is leaving to Novi Sad to
sing with Sheila Jordan on the Jazz
festival 2006, after which she is singing with Eddie Henderson and his
band.Few days after that she is
singing at the concert with Peter Herbolzheimer that was organized by
Goethe Insitut, with
international musicians, that show was recorded live and was showed
worldwide.
At the end of her 2nd year of her jazz studies, she was invited to
sing at the opening of the biggest jazz
club in Belgrade, Dizzy`s. Where she sang with Serbian most important
jazz musicians. That year
(2007) she begins her studies as the youngest student in the history
ofthe university. And in the first few
months she entered the audition for the MMJAZZ FESTIVAL in Austria,
and passed it with the highest
score.After wich she performed with Chaka Khan`s band, and that
performance is recorded and filmed
for ORF. Right after that concert in St.Poelten she wrote an
arrangement for her first recital at the
university for the song `Shiny Stockings` arranged for nonet. And it
had a huge success. During the
summer of 2008. in the cooperation with University of Arts in Serbia,
she performs on the international
project MUSIC MATTER VIBRATION in JDP, with Michelangelo Lupone, Luigi
Picaleo, Carlo
Laurenzi and Jean Jeffreau. That performance is recorded and kept in
the Italian Embassy. The
performance included playing instruments, acting, dancing, composing
and singing. After that event
Italian ambassador decided to finance the opening of a jazz department
at the University of Music in
Belgrade, since there was no one.
November 2008. with international musicians Zvonimir Sestak, Tuomo
Uusitalo, Lubos Brtan and Piotr
Pawlak she performs in Slovakia at Bratislava`s biggest Jazz Club.
December 2008. she had to big
concerts, 1st one is the Vocal Night concert in Wist,Graz and the
other one is a Christmas Concert with
Sigi Feigl Big Band also in Wist.
After the succesful summer school cooperation University of Serbia and
Stari Grad sponsored a big
concert in Djura Jaksic House in Belgrade.Where she performed with
Ivan Ilic, Milan Stanisavljevic,
Jani Sepetavec and Ivan Maksimovic. In february/march she went on a
tour with Don Menza well
known saxophone player,composer and arranger (Pink Panther Theme) and
Sigi Feigl Big Band
performing in several cities on a several concerts.Right before the
tour she held a concert for the
Opening of the Austrian new Railway.
End of march beginning of April Sofija had a chance to work with a
singer from NewYork Sandy
Cressman who sings Brazilian jazz, and is very well educated about
their language and culture.They
had a concert together on the 26th of March in Graz, together with
Juan Garcia Herreros. May/June
2009. Sofija works with a Finnish group of musicians, and went on a
tour with them in the upper
Austria exploring new modern kinds of music mixed with jazz and funk.
After coming back to Graz she performed at the opening of the New
Concert Hall Mumuth in Graz,
with Edward Anthony Partyka`s Big Band and Lena Mentschel.
July 2009. she proudly presents her duo music with Yvonne Bruger in
the Bad Goisern at the human
rights charity event, where they asked her to teach at the University
stunned by her talent and ambition.
Unfortunately too busy to stay there and teach,she had to go back to
Serbia and record a CD with
Flamez Shop in the studio of Vladimir Rackovic and then gets into a
contact with him and sing with his
famous Belgrade Dixieland Orchestra at several festivals such as
Bojcinsko Kulturno Leto and
Gardoske Letnje Svecanosti. At the same time, she works with producers
like Petar Cvetkovic, Dusan
Kacarevic,James Rockie, Marvin Stitt, and some more. During the
recordings she performs
almost every night in a Jazz&Blues Club Plek.
After getting back to Austria she is starting to sing with a jazz
latin band SWAY, with which she`s
winning the 1st prize on the EMERGENZA Band Festival, 1st prize on
Austrian Band Competition,
and Replugged Band Competition. November 2009. Sofija works with
Derrick Gardner, Charles Davis
and Ed Soph. In december she goes on a tour with Tuomo Uusitalo,Felipe
Oliveira,Juraj Rasi and
Lubos Brtan.Performing at the international Modern Music Festival in
Lyptovsky Mikulas and some
concerts more including one in Brooklyn. End of december she sings
with a KUG JAZZ choir in Wist
and in Capparri. After which she performs with a Big Band on the 18th
of January 2010. Also with a
support of Mary Frances Lubahn, Milan Opera singer she performs at
several classical concerts singing
opera arias.
All these years of performing she did many interviews, and most of
them are recorded.Including the
one with Katarina Epstein for Radio Beograd 1 – Afternoon Mood , two
shows. And the one for BETA
RFI that was recorded a few years before that, and played every year
internationally. During her first 3
years of the university she worked with a unique free jazz
vocalensemble and performed with the same
ensemble at many venues around Europe (Wist, Postgarage, Kug...) And
at the same time worked with
Barre Philips, John Abercrombie, Adam Nussbaum,Billy Hart,Jerry
Bergonzi, Dave Santoro,Bob
Brookmeyer. She also worked with many famous jazz musicians since she
was 14 like: Jelena Jovovic,
Shawn Monteiro, Christian McBride, Terence Blanchard, Ambrose
Akinmusire, Fritz Pauer, Jason
Moran, Jeff Ballard, David Murray, Rob Bargad, Michael Kahr, Roberto
Quintero, Wayne Darling,
Annette Giesriegl, Jay Clayton, Sheila Cooper, Sheila Jordan, Dena
DeRose, Kevin Mahogany, Nasheet
Watts, Taurus Mateen, Fred Hersch, Luis Bonilla , Jim Rotondi, Jim
McNeely and many others.
Beginning of the year 2010. she performes her famous arrangement
`Disney Medley` for a septet.That
concert was followed by a performance in jazz club `Miles` that she
dedicated to Horace Silver`s music
since he is one of her biggest influences where she presented another
famous arrangement of hers with
Horace Silver`s tunes. She wrote lyrics to more than 30 Horace
Silver`s songs.Spring 2010. she was
invited by an English composer and pianist Veryan Weston to join an
international a cappella group
`VOCIFEROUS` together with him ,Annette Giesriegl, Siruan Kueng, Anush
Apoyan, Iris Ederer,
Dorothea Jaburek, Patrik Thurner and Franz Schmuck. They all performed
together the composition byt
Veryan Weston called `Tessalations 2` at the jazz festival in Graz
`Singers and Voices` on
the stage with Norma Winston. The same set-up performed in Weiz at the
`Choir Fire` Festival,where
she also performed with the KUG Jazz Choir the same night.
June 2010. she sings with a well-known band `The Jazz Passengers` in
`Our Little Theater`. At the
same time she got and invitation to perform at the NewYork FashionWeek
for the Elie Saab Show.
July 2010. she is invited to sings at the opening of the Brazilian
Cultural Center in Belgrade with
guitarist Andreja Stankovic from Amsterdam.
September 2010. she goes on a tour in England with VOCIFEROUS. They
perform at numerous
venues in several cities including London,Welwyn Garden City,St.
Albans etc. They also had a pleasure
of performing with and amazing pianist Leo Svirsky and the percussion
ensemble Welwyn Hatfield
Ethnic Minority Group. The whole concert was filmed and it is going to
be published during 2011. on a
Documentary Film Festival in UK. She also records her cd with
Vociferous in the Pinewood Studios in
BBC. That CD is later released in spring 2011. for the EMANEM RECORDS.
After the tour, she is
coming back to Serbia to perform in jazz club Wheels and Izba in Novi
Sad, and also records an album
with a producer Medicine Man,that is going to be released later
(spring 2011) for the EXIT label.
Winter 2010. she is in Graz in her last years of jazz studies, she
there works withCharenee Wade and
Kevin Mahogany. After that she got a chance to work with Jason Moran
and the Bandwagon first at the
Belgrade Jazz Festival then at the VIP Jazz Festival in Zagreb, and
she composes and records a tune
with Moran. And the same night famous saxophonist David Murray
recognizes her great talent and asks
her to sing with him `at least one tune`.
From september 2010. she is starting to work for a Film Festival
Beldocs on 3 positions Marketing
Manager,Public International Relations and as a Stylist and a host for
the Festivalin Cannes.
Modeling for the fashion magazines,ads,and commercials. Won the first
prize in aphotography and
photoshop competition in the `SMASHING MAGAZINE` ,she did many
exhibitions with her
photo work and also as a painter and designer. Sofija also designed
dresses and shoes for famous
performers in Eastern Europe.Worked for many magazines,as a
writer,stylist and a photographer.Now
writing for a jazz magazine that is covering European jazz scene
`Jazzin` .
February 2011. she is on a tour in the states for a month recording
her album with Poogie Bell and
Jazzadelica for Warner Bros, where she has a chance to perform
for/with Ambrose Akinmusire, Rodney
Kendrick, Poogie Bell, Sean Jones, Alex Han, Brandone McCune, Melonie
Daniels, Nikki Ross, Lalah
Hathaway, Christian McBride,Terence Blanchard, Casey Benjamin...and
many more.
In the spring/summer 2011 her work with producer Shazalakazoo was
published in a compliation
`SWING DISOKTEKA` by a German Label EASTBLOK. After that she performed
with Filip
Bulatovic on tha national TV in Serbia,in a show that is showed live
worldwide `MIRA ADANJA
POLAK I VI`. And held a concert in a `Montaza Klub` with local
musicians in Belgrade. In June 2011,
she performed at the Exit Festival, opening of Cinema City Movie
Festival in Novi Sad Serbia, for
around 10 000 people. Where she performed tracks from the CD she did
with Medicine Man `Data
Jazz` which is also the soundtrack of the festival. With the same
project they have an organized tour in
India in the 2012.
August 2011. Sofija is being invite to perform at the Voicingers jazz
competition/festival in Poland,
where she continues the tour, going back and performing also in
Austria, and finally back in Serbia.
In September she shoots the music video for one of the songs from her
`Data Jazz` album with a Soho
director Lana Pavkov. And starts another 4 music videos and 3 movies.
The other 3 from the 4 music
videos she started will be published next year,since the first one
already had a premiere a couple of
weeks ago on Serbian National Television. All 4 of them are based on
the scenes from a movie by a
Columbia director Igor Simic, named `Sofijazz` about Sofija Knezevic`s
life. Movie is going to be
published in the spring/summer 2012. And it is sponsored by RTS. The
second movie Sofija did in
September is called `Serbian Jazz BRE!` and its actually a documentary
following a book about
Serbian jazz and jazz musicians in the country, that are living or
lived, who are important in Serbian
jazz history. The book holds the same title as the movie, and the
photo exhibition. No need to say that
Sofija is the youngest artist in the whole project. The book,movie and
the photo exhibition are done by
Ivan Grlic with a help of some other great artists, and was published
on the 11th of April 2012. That
project is touring the world starting in the summer 2012. with a live
band following the project, which
Sofija is also a part of. And the 3rd movie is called `Balkan Spirit`
directed by German artists with help
of a German government, where Sofija plays a role of a singer who
sings in more than 5 different
lanugages and in many genres of music.
Since she got to the United States she has been offered a couple of
record deals by some major labels as
Atlantic, Universal,Sony and Warner Bros.. She is going to be signed
to one of those labeles later this
year. While being in Europe she recorded one album with Carvin and
Ivan (Musiq Soulchild,Mary J
Blidge etc.)for Ethical Music Entertainment, and started working on
material for the album with
Nicholas Payton, and Phillip Lassiter.
During the October and November 2011. Sofija also graduated from Teen
Vogue Fashion University
ahead of her class, since she worked in fashion already and was very
familiar with fashion industry,
photographers, history... In December 2011. her album with
Shazalakazoo Karton City Blok is
published by EastBlok Records.
Her interviews for the `She`,`LOVE`,`Razbibriga,`Musiq`,`Bazaar` and
the `Elle` magazine are being
published. Also both of her new videos on CNN. And the inverview with
Terri Matthews for the
FlyTalk TV.
In 2012. she had another long tour in Europe with Sofijazz
Quintet(Otis Brown III,Oleg
Markov,Tuomo Uusitalo,Norbert Farkas), where in Subotica she had Al
Foster in her rhythm
section.After that she is being invited to perform at a couple of TV
shows and programs like Zikina
Sarenica,Magazine In, Hocu Da Znas,Jutarnji Program etc.
30. of April she is holding 4 concerts in 5 different cities for the
celebration of the first International
Jazz Day, invited and organized by UNESCO.
In May 2012. Sofija composed,scored and arranged pieces for a play at
the Madlenianum theater.
While being on tour and performing, she is also doing the clinics for
young singers and
instrumentalists, with being invited to teach as a guest professor at
the opening of the first jazz
department at the University for Music in Belgrade,Serbia together
with Michelle Hendricks and
others.And right now she is also writing a book about jazz singing and
technique, together with the
Serbian Jazz Real Book. And also writing a Jazz Symphony with a great
help of Terence Blanchard.
Started filming a movie by Aleksandrija Production `Love Comes Later`,
where they also used her
songs as the soundtrack.And on the 1st of July 2012 she became the
editor in chief of Jazzin` Magazine
(www.jazzin.rs).
During the summer 2012. Sofija performs at numerous festivals and
venues including the newly
opened JAZZIBAR festival in Kraljevo where she performed with the All
Star band. She also
performed at jazz club Krug,Brankow, Iguana, Amstel, and at Dom
Omladine the house of Belgrade
Jazz Festival, where she performed with the same All Star Jazz band
for the opening of Serbian Jazz
Bre project.She also performed at festivals as Jazzavienne, Wien jazz
festival, Jazz Festival
Vrsac,White Fields Jazz Festival,KAIROS Jazz Festival etc. And the the
interview that she filmed for
the national TV and the show Vita Studentis starts showing at the end
of the Summer.
Before going back to New York she is recording her new single and
working with her director on a
music video for it, which is named `Lipstick`. Lipstick song happened
to be a huge success showing on
MTV and other televisions in Europe. It was reviewed in many magazines
as Bazar, Wannabestars,
Nadlanu, Blic, Aladin,RTS etc. The video was published December 1st
2012 and in the first two days
had over 10 000 hits on YouTube, and it was the number one on the
radio top 20 for over a month in the
countries of Eastern Europe. The song also included a trombone
instrumental by Elliot Mason. And it
was on the I Got Talent competition in Europe January 26th 2013.The
song was also in the finals of the
World Song Contest of 2012.
During the autumn and winter Sofija became a faculty of the Music
School Of New York City, and was
invited to teach at the New School Of Music, in 2013. At the same time
she is being interviewed ,
photographed and featured on the spreads and covers of magazines such
as January 2013 issue of
Cosmopolitan, Student magazine, What Women Want, Per Aspera Ad
Astra,City Magazine, Starry ID,
Women In Music etc.
While teaching and writing music, Sofija organizes a Benefit concert
for the families of Sandy Hook
Elementary shooting victims and her colleague saxophonist Jimmy Greene
who lost his child. The
concert was held at Somethin` Jazz Club (ex Miles) in New York, with
Obed Calvaire, Luques Curtis,
Tuomo Uusitalo and Elliot Mason in the band. Concert was filmed by
Milica Petrovic, and
photographed by Frank Stewart and Music Exclusives. And it caught a
lot of media attention, it was
reviewed by CNN,Music Exclusives, NY Daily News, Hot House etc. And
all the proceeds from the
concert went to Anna Marquez fund.
In January 2013. she is announced to be in the finals of Betty Carter
Jazz Ahead. Also her song reached
the top jazz download at All About Jazz in the mid January, with her
`Lipstick` video being publish on
the same site.
At the moment she is in New York performing, teaching, writing and
arranging music and also filming
the second part of the movie `Sofijazz`.
sofijaknezevic@yahoo.com
www.sofijaknezevic.com
www.youtube.com/sofijazzz
www.facebook.com/sofijazzz
www.twitter.com/sofijazz
www.myspace.com/sofijazzz
www.soundcloud.com/sofijazz
