Vladimir Kostadinovic, award winning drummer (Tuscia in Jazz 2008 Italy, Jimmy Woode Competition) bandleader, composer & arranger is one of the Europe jazz music scene's most sought after drummers, started his musical education at the age of five when he began studying classical accordion and drums. Drums has always been his real love and he wanted to pursue it, with a passion! Vladimir ranks high among drummers who are versatile and savvy enough to play different styles of music, as a sideman and with his own projects. In August 2009 he was invited to perform with a master of organ hammond B3 Tony Monaco. During that time Vladimir also formed his own quartet with Jimmy Greene, Danny Grissett and Matt Brewer which featured his own compositions. In 2009 he went into the studio in New York with his band and recorded his first CD "COURSE OF EVENTS". Shortly thereafter he joined the band Antonio Farao Trio, with whom he is currently playing and traveling all over Europe. Vladimir also recorded his second album as a leader "THE LEFT SIDE OF LIFE" live at the Generations Jazz Festival in Frauenfled Switzerland, which was released for one of the most prestigious jazz record lables in Europe ENJA Records. He published 2 CD’s under his own name and recieved rave reviews all over the globe among others in the influential Modern Drummer, Jazz Times, Jazzthing, Jazzpodium and All about jazz Web portal,etc. In last few years, Vladimir has also gone on to put his musical talents to work. He is currently writing music for his upcoming album and continues to headline concerts across internationally. His goal as a musician: To Serve the Music. Vladimir has spent a lot of time playing and recording in The Big Apple with many great jazz musicians on the world scene. He has had the pleasure of sharing the stage with: Antonio Farao, Dusko Gojkovic, Benny Golson, Charles Tolliver, George Garzone, David Kikoski, Chico Freeman, Joe Locke, Seamus Blake, Kevin Hays, Gregory Porter, Jim Rotondi, Till Brönner, Melisa Aldana, Jane Monheit, Soweto Kinch, Dominique Di Piazza, Jimmy Greene, Mike Moreno, Jonathan Kreisberg, Didier Lockwood, John Ellis, Joe Martin, Linda Oh, Franco Ambrosetti, Danny Grissett, Tim Green, Darryl Hall, Marcin Wasilewski, Tony Monaco, Peter King, Bill Ramsey, Vicente Archer, Joe Sanders, Matt Brewer, Ameen Saleem, Doug Weis, Benito Gonzales, Donald Smith, Kiyoshi Kitagawa, Eric Lewis, Antoine Drye, Tivon Pennicott, Mansur Scott, Joel Holmes, Sinan Alimanovic, Harvie S, Rob Bargad, Martin Gjakonovski, William Lecomte, Claus Raible, Zipflo Weinrich, Jaka Kopac, Lenart Krecic, Milan Nikolic, Andre Heller, Andrea Eckert, Maria Bild, Martin Fuss, Oliver Kent, Uli Langthaler, Johannes Strasser, Wolfgang Puschnig, Erwin Schmidt,etc..
EDUCATION: He finished primary and secondary music school in Belgrade and graduated from the jazz department for drums in the class of Miroslav Karlovic. After music high school Vladimir enrolled at the University for Musik and the Performing Arts in Grac. In 2009 he graduated his Master's Degree with honours in the class of Professor Howard Thomas Curtis.
"With this great man and teacher, from whom I received valuable instruction, I've significantly upgraded my playing skills and music language."
AWARDS: BEST DRUM PLAYER- Tuscia in jazz 2008 Jimmy Woode competition.Teachers and jury: Kenny Barron, Francisco Mela, Kiyoshi Kitagawa, Shawn Monteiro, Eddi Palermo, Karl Potter, Rick Margitza,Tony Monaco, Ray Mantilla, Flavio Boltro, Giorgio Rosciglione, Gege Munari.
WORKSHOPS: He participated in the workshops of Greg Hutchinson, Jeff"Tain"Watts, Kenny Barron, Joey Calderrazzo, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Scott Coley, Jerry Bergonzi, Billy Hart, Bob Mintzer, John Hollambeck, Ron McClure, Trilok Gurtu, Horazio Hernandez, Dennis Irvin, Obed Calvaire, Jonathan Blake, Rodney Holmes..
FESTIVALS: Vladimir has played many prominent festivals in the United States, China, Cuba, Europe: Germany, England, Holland, Switzerland, France, Spain, Austria, Italy, Slovakia, Poland, Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, etc..
CLUBS: Blue Note (Milano), Ronnie Scotts (London), New Apartment Lounge, Jazz Showcase (Chicago), 55 Bar (Nyc), Smalls (Nyc), Fat Cat (Nyc), Ibeam (Nyc), Somethin Jazz (Nyc), Porgy&Bess (Vienna), Jazz Bar (Edinburg), ORF Radio Kulturhaus (Vienna), Jazzland (Vienna), Birdland (Vienna), Bird's Eye (Basel), Moods (Zurich), Grand Casino (Luzern), Palace Of Arts (Budapest), Blue Note (Nove Mesto), Cankarjev Dom (Ljubljana), Zwe (Vienna), Stokwerk (Graz), Royal Garden (Graz), Miles (Graz), Satchmo (Maribor), Sax Pub (Ljubljana), Cekaonica (Belgrade), Jazz Hram (Divaca), Hlava XX (Bratislava), Cultural Center (Zagreb), Jazz Club (Sarajevo), etc...
Performance in Theatre productions: Graz National theatre "Schauspielhaus" and "Volkstheater" in Vienna
Big Band/groups: Bob Mintzer, Peter Helbozheimer, Sigi Feigl..
