Jaka Kopač is recognized as one of the leading jazz saxophonists of the younger Slovenian generation of musicians. He gained his saxophone experience as a young boy with teacher Franc Zupanac, and later his mentors were the respected musicians Saša Nestorović and Stjepko Gut. After graduating from the Faculty of Arts in Graz, he decided to study in northern Europe at the renowned Sibelius Academy of Music, where he obtained a master’s degree. Until now, Jaka Kopač has participated in various European and global projects, such as the European Movement Jazz Orchestra, the European Jazz Orchestra, the New School Jazz Orchestra and the Umo Big Band, as well as with musicians such as Jonathan Blake, Jimmy Owens, Doug Hammond, Danny Grissett,

Vincente Archer, Benito Gonzales, Dusko Gykovic, Bosko Petrovic, George Garzone and Lennie Pickett. Jaka is known above all for his musical expression, which is complemented by his warm sound and playing energy. His artistic streak is also reflected in his original compositions, which are demanding on the one hand, but nevertheless pleasant to the listener’s ear. His music carries a special depth, which is fully expressed through improvisation, and that’s when it reaches its peak. In 2009, Jaka released his first album entitled Almost There, and this year he will release his second album, which bears the international title “Present Thoughts”. Current Thoughts and was filmed in New York. He had three world-class musicians at his side in Orrin Evans, Vincent Archer and Willie Jones III. In addition to his achievements as a jazz saxophonist, we can also attribute his achievements in the field of music pedagogy. Since 2010, he has been employed as a saxophone teacher at the Marjana Kozine School of Music in Novi Mesto. During this time, he realized that he had to offer his students more than just weekly saxophone lessons. With this aim, he organized several different saxophone ensembles within the school and with them aroused the interest of young people in saxophone and music. Some of his students, as a result of his teaching methods, can boast of performing in big bands and other ensembles, e.g. in the Big Band of the Faculty of Medicine. Last year, however, he encouraged the principal of the school to organize a big band within the music school, and now the music school in Novi Sad has its own big band for the second year under the direction of Jake Kopač. Based on past achievements, we can conclude that Jaka will contribute to many more good projects with his work and interest in music, both as a musician and as a teacher.