Mirna Bogdanović is a Bosnian-Slovenian singer/composer based in Berlin. She studied classical piano and jazz vocals in various music colleges in Europe, finishing her degree at the Jazz Institute Berlin in the class of Judy Niemack, Kurt Rosenwinkel and Greg Cohen. In her study years she won the Downbeat Student Award for outstanding performance, was part of the German National Bigband (BuJazzO) and was a scholar of Slovenian Ministry for Culture. Next to her studies she attended many workshops and took private lessons from renowned jazz musicians, such as Danilo Perez, Norma Winstone, Danny Grissett, Sheila Jordan, Amy London, Anita Wardell, Jay Clayton, Theo Blackmann, Jen Shyu and many others.
In 2020 she released her debut album Confrontation (Klaeng Records), in collaboration with the saxophonist/producer Wanja Slavin. The album was awarded the Deutscher Jazzpreis as „Debut Album of the Year 2021“ and is on the German Record Critics‘ („Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik“) best album list 2021. The album received numerous reviews and was played on radio stations around the globe. Her compositional work has been supported by scholarships of the University of Arts, Berlin (Nafög), Berlin Senate, Musikfonds and GEMA.
Bogdanović is an active member of the German Jazz scene and collaborates with many musicians in various projects. With her band Mirna Bogdanović Group comprised of Peter Meyer on the guitar, Povel Widestrand on piano, Felix Henkelhausen on bass and Philip Dornbusch on drums, she has been performing throughout Germany and abroad. The band recently recorded Mirna’s second studio album “Awake”, that will be released in May 2023 at BERTHOLD records. The album was produced by Chris Hyson and features guest musicians Asger Nissen on alto saxophone, Paul Santner on Ukulele and the Rothko String Quartet.
In April 2023 Mirna is going to perform her music with Ljubljana’s Radio TV Big Band (RTV SLO).
Next to her music work she undertakes the task of program curator of the Berlin Jazzclub Donau115.
“Singer/composer Mirna Bogdanovic has been a strong presence on the European jazz scene for some years now. Her sultry tone, expressive phrasing and total musicality, make her the choice of many musicians “in the know”. Comfortable in all walks of musical life, Ms. Bogdanovic is guaranteed to please.” – Greg Cohen, bass player known for his work with Ornette Coleman, John Zorn, Tom Waits…
Not too many singers have the strength to make themselves independent from the vocal point of view in their own music. Mirna Bogdanović succeeds in squaring the circle by thinking like a pianist, guitarist, saxophonist or producer. – Wolf Kampmann
