I was born in a small village in Slovenia and grew up in the countryside. My father is a train driver, my mother is an accountant. I have a younger brother who became an engineer.
At the age of 18 I moved to The Netherlands for music, the idea won over my plans to study Latin and old Greek. A few years later, I was immersed into the rich world of Amsterdam’s improvised music scene, which complemented my studies of classical composition in a great way. After 13 years in Holland, I moved to Copenhagen, Denmark, just recently.
Welcome to my website.
for bio and cv please scroll down
News:
My octet is getting ready to record the second album. I wrote the new repertoire on poems of Robert Frost. We will be recording the program at the wonderful De Bijloke in Gent, Belgium in September.
I was invited to teach at the Music Workshop Intertonale, happening in the beginning of July, close to Vienna, Austria. I was free to shape the workshop's content to my liking, which encouraged me to prepare a colourful collection of topics. Please read more about it on Intertonale's website.
Hearth (Santos Silva/Rasmussen/Rave/Draksler) will be recording its debut record in May at Portalegre Jazz Festival, Portugal for Clean Feed Records.
The trio Punkt.Vrt.Plastik (Draksler/Eldh/Lillinger) is playing several concerts in the upcoming months, promoting the new album, released on Intakt Records in November 2018. Christian Lillinger's new large ensemble project Open Form For Society, on which Petter and myself are playing as well, has just been released on Plaist in April.
| Apr 24 | Solo in Wschowa | Museum Wschowa plac Zamkowy 2, 67-400 Wschowa, Poland |
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May 2
to: May 5 |
Hearth: Portalegre Residency + Recording | |
| May 9 | Punkt.Vrt.Plastik at X-jazz Berlin | Skalitzer Str. 85-86 10997 Berlin, Germany |
| May 13 | Kaja Draksler Octet at Studio Loos | Studio LOOS De Constant Rebecqueplein 20B, 2518 RA Den Haag, Netherlands |
| May 14 | With Terrie Ex at Radio Student 50year anniversary | Restavracija klub Cankarjevega doma Prešernova cesta 10, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia |
| May 18 | Solo | Handelsbeurs Kouter 29, 9000 Gent, Belgium |
| May 23 | Punkt.Vrt.Plastik at Arcub | Arcub Str. Lipscani nr. 84 – 90, București 030037, Romania |
| May 24 | Punkt.Vrt.Plastik at BMC | Budapest Music Center Budapest, Mátyás u. 8, 1093 Hungary |
|
Jun 13
to: Jun 17 |
Doek Festival | |
| Jun 20 | Kaja Draksler Octet at Ljubljana Jazz Festival | Cankarjev dom Prešernova cesta 10, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia |
| Jun 23 | Late night collaborations at Vancouver Jazz Festival | Vancouver BC, Canada |
| Jun 24 | Feecho at Vancouver Jazz Festival | Vancouver BC, Canada |
| Jun 27 | Feecho | Toronto ON, Canada |
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Jul 7
to: Jul 13 |
Teaching at Intertonale | Proberaum Scheibbs Feldgasse 1, 3270 Scheibbs, Austria |
| Jul 13 | Kaja Draksler Octet at Copenhagen Jazz Festival | Koncertkirken Blågårds Pl. 6A, 2200 København, Denmark |
| Jul 18 | Kaja Draksler Octet at Molde Jazz Festival | Moldejazz Gørvellplassen 1, 6413 Molde, Norway |
| Jul 19 | Kaja Draksler Octet at Wonderfeel Festival | 's-Graveland 1243 's-Graveland, Netherlands |
| Jul 24 | Solo at Jazz Platform | Wytwórnia Łąkowa 29, 90-554 Łódź, Poland |
| Sep 28 | Kaja Draksler Octet at De Bijloke | Music Center De Bijloke Jozef Kluyskensstraat 2, 9000 Gent, Belgium |
“The young Slovenian pianist Kaja Draksler shows off a wealth of sturdy ideas and nonchalant technique on this stunning solo recording.”
Downbeat
“/.../ the young Slovenian pianist Kaja Draksler pulls together information from a century of experimental music and jazz. She also makes rhythm a priority, and reminds you subtly that she knows what she’s doing. /.../ It’s hard, or maybe impossible, to predict where she’s going to take you. That’s not so common from a young musician.”
New York Times
“Draksler brings austerity, subtlety and poignancy with her fluid piano playing and rings through in bright, rich textures.”
Irish Times
