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Zvonimir Tot

Zvonimir Tot (z-VON-e-mere TOTE) is a jazz guitarist, composer and arranger with a style deeply rooted in the jazz tradition but flavored by his European origin. He holds too many university degrees. Tot has performed in the United States, Belgium, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Macedonia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, South Africa, and Spain. He has performed and/or recorded with many world-renowned musicians, including:

- Saxophonists Chris Potter, Scott Hamilton, Billy Harper, Jamey Aebersold, Eric Alexander, Chip McNeill, and Peter King
- Violinists Johnny Frigo and Stefan Milenković
- Drummers Ernie Adams, Paul Wertico and Byron Landham
- Bassists Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen and John Clayton
- Pianists Larry Novak and Larry Vuckovich
- Harmonica virtuoso Howard Levy
- Accordionist Lelo Nika
- Guitarists Philip Catherine, Henry Johnson, and Paulinho Garcia
- Organists Joey DeFrancesco and Bobby Floyd
- Vocalists Patricia Barber, Jackie Allen, and Carmen Lundy

Tot has recorded seven CDs as a leader: Balkan Roots (Groove Art Records, 2022),  Sarabande Blue (Groove Art Records, 2021), Standards Live at the Jazz Showcase (Groove Art Records, 2016), Eloquent Silence (Chicago Sessions, 2009), Unspoken Desire (Groove Art Records, 2007), Blue Quest (Groove Art Records, 2007), and Travels and Dreams (Groove Art Records, 2004), as well as numerous CDs as a sideman. Tot is also the author of the book Jazz Guitar Harmony – The Melodic Approach, published by Jamey Aebersold Jazz in 2016. He has been a faculty member at the world-renowned Jamey Aebersold's Summer Jazz Workshops since 2016. Zvonimir Tot has been appointed a Fulbright Specialist in 2018. He is an endorsing artist for Godin electric/MIDI guitars, Taylor acoustic guitars, D'Addario strings, Acoustic Image amplifiers, Raezer's Edge speakers, and Finale music notation software. Zvonimir Tot is based in Xalapa (Veracruz, México), and Chicago (Illinois, USA).

Gear

Zvonimir Tot endorses Godin electric/MIDI guitars, Taylor acoustic guitars, D'Addario strings, Acoustic Image amplifiers, Raezer's Edge speakers, and Finale music notation software.


Tags

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Liner Notes

Zvonimir Tot's Jazz Stringtet: Sarabande Blue

Read "Zvonimir Tot's Jazz Stringtet: Sarabande Blue" reviewed by Howard Mandel


"On this record I'm trying to fuse two things I know something about: classical composition and jazz," says Zvonimir Tot, the Serbian-born, jny: Chicago-based guitarist, composer, arranger, improviser and educator regarding Sarabande Blue, his sixth album as a leader. The debut of Tot's Stringtet, an ensemble several years in development, is a gift from a musical artist who has integrated his experiences and accomplishments in a most gratifying way--providing us passage to the state of mind where genre definitions fade ...

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Album Review

Shawn Maxwell: Expectation & Experience

Read "Expectation & Experience" reviewed by Jack Bowers


On Expectation & Experience, his tenth recording as a leader, Chicago-based woodwind specialist Shawn Maxwell is accompanied by almost thirty musicians—but never by more than three on any of its seventeen tracks. Maxwell says the compositions were written during the global Covid-19 pandemic, and the musicians were mustered singly, most in their own homes. While each of the compositions has a “theme," none is readily apparent from its performance, and listeners should feel free to overlook that aspect and focus ...

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Take Five With...

Take Five with Zvonimir Tot

Read "Take Five with Zvonimir Tot" reviewed by AAJ Staff


Musician Zvonimir Tot: Zvonimir Tot (z-VON-e-mere TOTE) is a jny: Chicago-based jazz guitarist, composer and arranger with a style deeply rooted in the jazz tradition but flavored by his European origin. Tot has performed in the United States, Belgium, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Macedonia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, South Africa, and Spain. He has performed and/or recorded with many world-renowned musicians, including: Saxophonists Chris Potter, Scott Hamilton, Billy Harper, Jamey Aebersold, Eric Alexander, and Peter King; Violinists Johnny Frigo ...

5
Album Review

Zvonimir Tot's Jazz Stringtet: Sarabande Blue

Read "Sarabande Blue" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


Guitarist Zvonimir Tot says there are two things he knows something about, classical composition and jazz. He combines those two bodies of knowledge in his presentation of Sarabande Blue. The Serbian-born and now Chicago-based guitarist collaborated with a “string quintet" for the outing, adding the bass of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's Robert Kassenger to a string quartet, in addition to his own guitar. Much of the music is through-composed; some is improvised--Tot is a jazz guy. All of ...

257
Album Review

Zvonimir Tot: Eloquent Silence

Read "Eloquent Silence" reviewed by Matthew Warnock


Eloquent Silence is an introspective yet powerful album by Chicago guitar virtuoso Zvonimir Tot. The album features an all-star band including bassist Larry Gray, drummer Ernie Adams, saxophonist Mark Colby and brass specialist Orbert Davis. All of the tunes were composed and arranged by the multi-faceted guitarist and reflect Tot's diverse educational and performing background. Bouncing between hard-driving funk tunes, laid back ballads, rock-inspired grooves and Latin beats, Tot's compositions spin a web of musical eloquence that is both engaging ...

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Album Review

Zvonimir Tot Trio: Blue Quest

Read "Blue Quest" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


Serbian-born, Chicago-based guitarist Zvonimir Tot opens up his second CD as a leader, Blue Quest, with the old American church hymn, “Just a Closer Walk With Thee." There's reverence in the sound, but it's not a tranquil or meditative approach. Tot and his trio--which includes bassist Larry Gray and drummer Charles Heath--soup the tune up considerably. It sounds as if that dude with whom they are walking is a pretty hip guy, and is not in anyway averse to getting ...

162
Album Review

Zvonimir Tot: Travels and Dreams

Read "Travels and Dreams" reviewed by Rich Friedman


What makes jazz so vibrant is its sponge-like ability to incorporate different styles and cultural perspectives. On Travels and Dreams guitarist and composer Zvonimir Tot, who now calls Chicago home, skillfully mines his Eastern European roots and virtuoso technique to produce an especially appealing mix of ballads, bop, funk, bossa nova and bluesy originals. A team of trumpeter Art Davis, bassist Nick Tountas, and Rusty Jones, on drums, the quartet delivers tunes that are skillfully composed, packed solid with rich ...

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The debut of Tot's Stringtet, an ensemble several years in development, is a gift from a musical artist who has integrated his experiences and accomplishments in a most gratifying way – providing us passage to the state of mind where genre definitions fade as the sheer, sweet beauty of gracefully flowing sound abounds. Howard Mandel, jazz critic and author
(...) Zvonimir Tot (is) an exceptional jazz guitarist. The fluidity of his technique, the bent-note expressiveness of his pitch and the sleekly melodic quality of his improvisations have earned him wide admiration. Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune When he improvises, Zvonimir evidences many things, from the intensity of a conservatory virtuoso to the serene patience of a Zen guru, and always, the love of lore that characterizes griots and troubadours the world over

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Primary Instrument

Guitar

Location

Chicago

Willing to teach

Intermediate to advanced

Credentials/Background

https://www.zt-music.com/lessons I teach a limited number of private students at locations in Chicago, western suburbs and via Zoom or Skype. I have over 30 years of teaching experience at all levels. If you want to major in jazz guitar, you may be able to study with me at University of Illinois-Chicago Please contact me for details. Current position: Clinical Associate Professor of Music, University of Illinois at Chicago. Education: Doctor of Musical Arts (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), Master of Music (Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois), Bachelor of Music (Amsterdam Conservatory, Amsterdam, The Netherlands), Bachelor of Music (Franz Liszt Academy of Musical Arts, Budapest, Hungary).

Clinic/Workshop Information

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Pat Martino
guitar
Chet Baker
trumpet and vocals
Mike Stern
band / ensemble / orchestra
Sonny Stitt
saxophone
Kenny Burrell
guitar, electric
Ennio Morricone
composer / conductor

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Sarabande Blue

Groove Art Records
2021

buy

Expectation &...

Self Produced
2021

buy

Standards Live at the...

Groove Art Records
2015

buy

Bright Morning

BP Music Productions
2011

buy

Eloquent Silence

Chicago Sessions
2009

buy

Blue Quest

Groove Art Records
2007

buy

Groove Me Wah

From: Sarabande Blue
By Zvonimir Tot

Jungle Walk

From: Travels and Dreams
By Zvonimir Tot

Just a Closer Walk With Thee

From: Blue Quest
By Zvonimir Tot

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