photo (c) gezett.de
Born in Skopje, Macedonia, in 1983, Georgi Sareski is a contemporary composer, arranger and a maverick guitarist. Since graduating from college in 2005, Georgi has released 9 albums of original music, composed and arranged for various formations, and has performed on countless others. He has collaborated with the likes of Francesco Bearzatti, Ernst Reijseger, Luca Aquino, Oscar Salas, as well as some of the most renowned musicians from Macedonia and the region. A graduate from Berklee college of music with a major in jazz composition and arranging, Georgi is nurturing and ever developing a distinctly unique style, both as a guitarist and as a composer. Over the years, Georgi has lived abroad in Germany, Italy, China and the USA, and all these places, their cultures, music, and mentality, have vastly influenced his growth as a musician. Sareski has also composed and performed music for theater plays, a documentary, short videos, various collaborations, and has penned over 100 compositions, most of which can be heard on his albums.
Music studies:
Georgi attended Berklee College of Music in Boston from 2001 to 2005 with a major in jazz composition and arranging. He studied under the tutelage of Ken Pullig, Greg Hopkins, Scott Free, Jon Damian, Bret Willmott, and slide guitarist David Tronzo, to name a few. During his studies he was awarded the Berklee Achievement Scholarship Award, as well as the 1st prize award on the IAJE Massachusetts State competition (International Association of Jazz Educators) for his composition “Mourning Suite Pt.2” (featured on his debut album). Additionally, he was on the Dean’s List for his last two years at the college.
Additional information:
“Since graduating from Berklee, Sareski has become a fulcrum of Balkan’s jazz scene, honing an impressive unit with Dzijan Emin (keyboards), Oliver Josifovski (upright bass) and Goce Stevkovski (drums), and recording five albums, the latest of which sees him collaborating with Italian trumpeter Luca Aquino and Dutch cellist Ernst Reijseger. Aside from confident playing, there is a strong compositional personality at work here, where Balkan meters meet popular dance forms, driven forward by an irrepressible style and an occasional taste for the absurd.” – Gerry Godley for the 12 points festival
In 2010, his quartet was selected to perform in Stavanger, Norway on the prestigious 12 points festival as one of Europe’s most innovative new jazz groups.
In 2009, Georgi Sareski began playing with the Skopje Connection, an acoustic group featuring Dzijan Emin on French horn and Italian trumpet player Luca Aquino. Later in the year, “Enrico Blumer Productions” from Bergamo, Italy, released Skopje Connection’s first album which was selected as one of the best albums of 2009 by the Italian web site italia.allaboutjazz.com. The Skopje Connection went on to play on some of the best known European jazz festivals, and in 2010 in Hilversum, Holland, recorded their second album, featuring the renowned Dutch cellist Ernst Reijseger. The album was released for the Norwegian label Losen Records and produced by Enrico Blumer and Odd Gjelsnes, and selected as one of the best albums of 2011 by the Italian web site italia.allaboutjazz.com.
Since 2018 he plays with the Berlin based trio “the Instincts” with Boris Bell and Antti Virtaranta, and the Georgi Sareski trio from Skopje with Oliver Josifovski and Aleksandar Petrov. He also recorded some of his new orchestral work with Dzijan Emin’s magical Orchestra, in 2020. The two compositions featured on the recording – El Matador and Drlka are available on Georgi’s youtube channel
His latest project is with harmonica player Marko Jovanovic from Berlin, with whom they will release their new album in 2022.
Please check out the discography for more information about individual albums.