Dejan Terzic

Drummer Dejan Terzic is one of a couple of handfuls of young musicians living in Germany who have begun to make their presence felt on the world jazz scene in the last decade. The reason for this abundance of budding world class talent taking root and flourishing in the German jazz soil is a theme for the jazz historian -but the fact is that Germany has become fertile ground for contemporary jazz. Dejan
was born in Banja Luka in what was then Yugoslavia.
His family moved to Germany when Dejan was 3 years old. He began playing piano
at the age of 6, and took up drums at 12, playing art first in rock and funk groups.
His induction into the world of jazz came through the back door. Listening to Sting’s album “Bring On the Night”, he was grabbed by the playing of pianist Kenny
Kirkland and saxophonist Branford Marsalis. It was at this point that his exploration
of the world of jazz began in earnest. In the summer of 1991 Terzic journeyed to the Vermont Jazz Center, run by the legendary Hungarian guitarist Attilla Zoller. Attilla proved to be a major influence on Dejan, encouraging him, and clueing him in on the subtleties of group dynamics and improvisation. During the same summer Terzic
became a member of New York’s Drummer’s Collective, where he studied with among others, Marvin Smitty Smith and Bill Stewart. Back in Germany, Dejan began studying at the conservatory in Wurzburg where he met up with drummer Bill Elgart, one of the most original creative players on the scene. Terzic’s comment was, “…he brought me to some really different stuff…” The next few years were hectic ones,
filled with studies and gigs. His playing began to catch the ears of both musicians and the public – and his playing began to gather in the prizes – Young Bavarian jazz Lion 94/95, Best Drummer Krakow Festival 94, Best Drummer, Leipzig Festival 95, Best Musician, International Jazz Festival Oberkochen, 95. Nuremberg Cultural
Prize, 97. Jazzprice by the City of Munich in 2004.
ECHO Jazz Award as best national Drummer in 2014.
After touring and recording numerous CDs for over 20 years, Dejan Terzic has become a very sought after and outstanding drummer on the European Jazzscene. In the last few years he started focussing on his own projects. These works also feature him as an composer of original music.