Borislav Petrov is a drummer, composer, teacher and ethnomusicologist. He received his musical education in the Netherlands, completing the American jazz program “New York Comes to Groningen”. He is a student of the legendary jazz drummer Ralph Peterson. Borislav Petrov plays music in various styles, including jazz, ethno-jazz, big band, fusion, world music, electronics, rock, pop, etc. The main object of his musical research are the asymmetric meters in the Bulgarian folk music, the drumming styles at the Balkans and their integration into different musical genres.
He works with many of the important instrumentalists on the Bulgarian music scene. Along with his concert activities, Borislav is also involved in music education. He is the author and host of a regular series of educational jazz concerts . He gives lectures and conducts master classes, workshops and seminars internationally. He is a faculty member at the New Bulgarian University and Voice Academy, as well as PhD student in ethnomusicology at the Bulgarian National Academy of Music.
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Band leader of Bulgarian jazz-folk band Jazzanitza.
Author producer and host of Jazz Portrait – educational concert presentations on the music and life of legendary artist from the history of American jazz.
Former member of the internationally acclaimed Dutch multimedia jazz trio Tin Men & the Telephone.
Music genres: jazz, ethno-jazz, big band, fusion, world-music, electronica, rock, pop, singer songwriter etc. He has performed in various theater and television shows.
Specialty: odd meter structures in Bulgarian folklore music.
Bachelor degree from the jazz program at Prince Claus Conservatorium in Groningen (the Netherlands, under the guidance of American jazz drummers Ralph Peterson, Owen Hart, Steve Altenberg.
Master degree at the Conservatory of Amsterdam under the guidance of Dutch drummers Martijn Vink and Lucas Van Merwijk.
Master research: Bulgarian folk rhythms and drumming styles: “Long And Short Beats” focuses on the essence of Bulgarian irregular meters and the historical development of folk drumming, as well as on ideas for expanding Bulgarian rhythms and integrating them into other styles of music.
Publications: Bulgarian Rhythms: “Past, Present and Future” in Dutch Journal Of Music Theory (2012)
Notable musical projects Borislav has been a part of:
Renske Taminiau – singer/ songwriter, Borislav recorded 2 albums with the singer and performed at prestigious stages all over the Netherlands, such as North Sea Jazz Festival and the legendary Concertgebouw.
Amsterdam Jazz Orchestra – Amsterdam based big band, led by Israeli saxophonist/composer/arranger/educator Yaniv Nachum. Borislav contributed to 2 studio albums, one of which was released.
Tarhana – World music band, made up of Turkish, Romanian, German, Dutch and Bulgarian musicians Performed and toured in many countries around Europe, South America, Asia and Africa. Participated in prestigious world music festivals, such as „November Music“ и „Womex“. The band collaborated with artists such as Ghalia Benali (Tunisia), Karsu Donmez (Turkey), Hana Kamkar (Iran), Theodossii Spassov (Bulgaria), as well as folklore musicians out of Radjasthan (India), Egypt, Tunisia and Lebanon.
The Stage Band – Groningen based big band, 5 times winner of the Dutch national big band contest.
Artists Borislav has collaborated with :
Ben Van Gelder, Ruben Hein, Margriet Sjoerdsma, Miguel Martinez, Floris van der Vlught, Tony Roe, Anne Guus Teerhuis (NL).
Jonas Ganzemuller, Dennis Secretarev, Franz von Chossy, Esra Dalfidan, Susanne Alt, Phillipp Braemswig (D).
Dave Douglas, Alex Sipiagin, Simone White, Nick Paul, Jeff Koch, Leah Kline (USA).
Nicholas Simion, Alex Simu, Elena Mindru, Catalin Milea, Sebastian Burneci, Bucharest Jazz Orchestra (RO).
Theodossii Spassov, Krassi Zhelyazkov, Dimitar Liolev, Ludmil Krumov, Anthony Donchev, Vassil Petrov, Angel Zaberski, Dimitar Bodurov, Kamelia Todorova, Mihail Yossiffov, Peyo Peev (BG).
Toured and Performed in: Netherlands, Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, UK, Italy, France, Romania, Serbia, Bosnia, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovenia, Luxembourg, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Belgium, Spain, Mexico, Canada, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Tunisia, Egypt, India, South Africa, Taiwan, China, South Korea. Next to musical performance. Borislav is strongly involved in music education. He has conducted lectures, master classes, seminars workshops on various topics in Spain, The Netherlands, UK, Germany, Taiwan, Romania and Bulgaria.