Welcome to my website and thanks for visiting
New solo guitar album coming out soon.
“Archtop Avenue” is part of my long-term research on Archtop guitars and is dedicated to the most famous guitar builders John D’Angelico, Jimmy D’Aquisto, Chris Mirabella, Bryant Trenier, Linda Manzer, Bob Benedetto, Jim Triggs…
“While respecting the harmonic contours and deeply ingrained melodies of those oft-covered tunes, and others presented here on Archtop Avenue, Zjaca puts his own personal stamp on them through reharmonization, subtle rhythmic shifts and improvisational flights Recording each track with a different archtop guitar, he interprets these beloved standards, and a few originals, with taste and invention. Always mindful of addressing the bass line while delivering rich chord voicings and spinning fluid melody lines, he strikes a delicate balancing act on these 12 tunes from Archtop Avenue.
Archtop Avenue is a compelling addition to the canon of solo guitar and a crowning achievement in Zjaca’s career to date.”
Bill Milkowski – Jazz critic, journalist, biographer
“In this wonderful album, Ratko shares songs from the Great American Songbook and original compositions played with skill and feeling. The music is offered with a genuine reverence and a connection to the heart of the player. That is a rare and beautiful gift. Played without any hint of showing off, Ratko presents these beautiful melodies as food to be savored. This is beautiful music to use as a soundtrack for life. Sit back and relax and let the sounds take you away.”
Rodney Jones – Guitarist/Composer/Educator – NYC, May 2023
“Enjoy how Ratko speaks with each note, every pause, through each instrument. And enjoy each instrument. The differences, the similarities. The unique voices each one offers.”
Cristian Mirabella, one of the premier Archtop builders of the new generation of luthiers – March 2023, Saint James, New York
ZZ Quartet “Midnight in Europe” Tour – October 2022
Art of the Guitar Festival – New York
Nocturnal Four – European Tour 2022
“This new quartet by guitarist Ratko Zjaca Nocturnal Four featuring the great American drummer John Riley, Renato Chicco on Organ and Stefano Bedetti on Tenor Saxophone is full of creative, well conceived, and grooving original compositions by Ratko and absolutely first rate playing from everyone! It’s a tightly knit group and his best record yet in my opinion, well produced as far as overall conception, and great sound too! Check it out!”
Randy Brecker
“The unexpected delight of hearing John Riley on this recording with an all-star assemblage of European musicians
Nocturnal Four only makes the listening experience sweeter. I highly recommend this album”
Peter Erskine
European Discography Award for Artistic Creation in Jazz Music
It’s a great honour to be chosen from the great Nisville Jazz Festival Organization and getting the European discography award for the artistic creation in jazz music.
New album “Midnight in Europe”
ZZ Quartet’s new double live vinyl album “Midnight in Europe” recorded with Simone Zanchini, Adam Nussbaum and Martin Gjakonovski.
A new live album “Midnight in Europe” by the ZZ Quartet is coming out on CD and vinyl in April 2021: Ratko Zjaca, Simone Zanchini, Martin Gjakonovski and Adam Nussbaum.
“This new outing by the ZZ Quartet, co-led by guitarist Ratko Zjaca and accordionist Simone Zanchini, finds the intrepid improvisers and virtuosos on their respective instruments stretching and exploring in a live setting.
Zjaca and Zanchini present an eclectic set of music that organically blends aspects of jazz, classical, folkloric, world music and rock, with just a touch of humor along the way from the fertile imaginations of these stellar improvisors.
They succeeded in grand fashion on these two unforgettable October nights in 2019 at the Milestone Jazz Club and the Bologna Jazz Festival. From structured forms to sublime ballads to free flowing conversations on the bandstand, the ZZ Quartet speaks in a myriad of tongues on Midnight in Europe.”
– Bill Milkowski
Bill Milkowski is a regular contributor to Downbeat, Jazziz and Guitar Player in the United States as well as Jazzthing in Germany. He is also the author of “JACO: The Extraordinary and Tragic Life of Jaco Pastorius” and co-author of “Here And Now: The Autobiography of Pat Martino” and author of a biography of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards.
Dave Liebman about this new live album: “Passionate… lyrical… one of a kind with virtuoso performance, this is music that should be heard by all music lovers.”
Steve Swallow about the new live album: “This recording reminds me how much fun a musical gathering can be. It’s good to recall that music, particularly improvised music, is rooted in dancing – the urge to shake that thing is universal, transcends all borders. We need music these days more than ever, and here’s just what the doctor ordered”.
Two new albums are out now
“Light in the World” – Ratko Zjaca (guitar / electronics / compositions) – Stefano Bedetti (tenor saxophone) – Renato Chicco (Hammond organ) – John Riley (drums).
“The Places You Will Go” – with incredible musicians in different line-ups, recorded in USA and Europe.
Croatian Composer Society Award 2019
Ratko received the award for authorship and artistic creation in jazz music from the Croatian Composer Society.
New album: “Light in the World”
After the success of the album “Life on Earth” released last year with Antonio Sanchez, Ratko recorded a new album in Italy, “Light in the World” with 9 new original compositions, with Stefano Bedetti, Renato Chicco and this time featuring on drums the great John Riley.
New album: “Life on Earth”
The new album “Life on Earth”, with all original compositions by Ratko is out now.
Ratko Zjaca – guitar, Antonio Sanchez – drums, Stefano Bedetti – saxophone and Renato Chicco – Hammond organ.
“Don’t Try This Anywhere” wins Orpheus Award 2016
The album “Don’t Try This Anywhere” has won the Orpheus Award for 2016 – the best Italian production 2015 for jazz music.
The new album “Don’t Try This Anywhere” is out now
“Don’t Try This Anywhere”, recorded in New York City, Simone Zanchini, John Patitucci, Adam Nussbaum, Stefano Bedetti and Ratko Zjaca.
New album release with ZZ Quartet
A new album with original music titled “Beyond The Lines” from all members of the quartet is out now.
Info www.zz-quartet.com
Ratko Zjaca’s Mirabella Chambered Ten
A special 10-string fretted / fretless guitar.
After a successful collaboration in 2009 with the Mirabella Jazz Moderne Electric guitar, which Ratko used to record his last two albums, the great Cris Mirabella just finished a new, unique guitar for Ratko: the 2013 Ratko Zjaca Mirabella Chambered Ten signature model. This guitar was a special construction. An idea of Ratko Zjaca, which Cris Mirabella then put to design and applied to wood. The resulting guitar is a unique and exciting collaboration from these two artists.
Album is out: Now and Then
The Way We Talk: Album is out now
Ratko just released a new album with his new group with Simone Zanchini, Adam Nussbaum and Martin Gjakonovski.
Continental Talk
Crossing the Border
A Day in Manhattan
