Born in a university town Novi Sad, Yugoslavia, and entirely self-taught, Branco began playing guitar at the age of 15 and very soon found a love of jazz and Brazilian music, influenced by Joe Pass, Charlie Parker and Antonio Carlos Jobim. Soon, Branco was being featured at a number of jazz venues and festivals in his home country and appeared at the largest festival "The Days of Jazz in Novi Sad".
At 18 he prolifically starts composing sensual music of great beauty with Sunny dispositions and gathers 100’s of tunes till the present. He is largely inspired by the Sun, and influenced by Jazz, Yugoslav traditional folk, World, Brazilian and classical music. The interest in these compositions led to recordings for radio and TV Novi Sad. Following this Branco formed his "Sad Nova Trio" whose success led to numerous concerts and broadcasts on TV.
As an avid reader of the Sherlock Holmes series, he began to hanker after a different life and wider musical opportunities. In the early nineties he set off to England with little more than his guitar and has since become a fixture on the London and UK music scene, actively composing and performing solo, in various duos and with his new trio featuring the elegant Leslee Booth on 6 string contra bass and imaginative Buster Birch on percussion. Branco composes and plays sensual music of great beauty, coloured by many world influences.
Leslee Booth became a professional musician after studying at the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles (USA). The south Indian (Chennai born) bassist’s subtle Indian nuances has lent support to some very big jazz and R&B artists, touring, recording and TV shows. Les is currently free lancing and involved in certain select projects. He currently plays a six string contra bass.
Buster Birch has performed in over 30 countries since finishing his musical studies in London and New York. He has a wealth of experience in many styles of music and is in great demand as a freelance percussionist for both live and studio work. He is a professor at Trinity College of Music, where he lectures in jazz history and also a visiting lecturer at the Royal Academy of Music and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
