# Samo Šalamon

Samo Šalamon (born 9 October 1978, in Maribor, Slovenia) is a Slovenian jazz composer, guitarist and Front. He has performed on over 35 albums and has been credited with over 300 compositions to date.

## Biography

Šalamon started playing the guitar at the age of seven and originally studied classical guitar in Maribor until the age of 15. He then studied at the University of Ljubljana, where he obtained a PhD in American poetry and translation. During his time at college, Šalamon became interested in jazz and improvisation.
In 1999, Šalamon met jazz guitarist John Scofield, who became his mentor and a source of inspiration. In the early 2000s, Šalamon started to play and record with musicians from the New York jazz scene, including Tim Berne, David Binney, Josh Roseman, Tony Malaby, Mark Helias, Tom Rainey, Gerald Cleaver, Tyshawn Sorey, John Hebert, Donny McCaslin and others. In 2003, he recorded Ornethology, in his debut album, featuring a European quartet with Achille Succi, Salvatore Maiore, and Zlatko Kaučič. With this group, he performed at Ljubljana Jazz Festival, Roma Jazz Festival and Skopje Jazz Festival. The album Ornethology was selected among the 1001 Best Albums in the History of Jazz according to the Penguin Guide to Jazz.
Šalamon regularly toured Europe two to three times per year with groups including various European and American jazz musicians. He has maintained long musical relationships with French tubist Michel Godard, American reed player and founding member of the group Oregon Paul McCandless, saxophonists Achille Succi and Tony Malaby, drummer Roberto Dani, and pianist Stefano Battaglia. In his later work, Šalamon mixed modern composition and improvisation, as seen in projects such as duos with guitarist Hasse Poulsen and clarinetist Francois Houle, his European sextet for Clean Feed Records – The Colors Suite featuring Julian Arguelles, Achille Succi, Pascal Niggenkemper and the drummers Christian Lillinger and Roberto Dani, as well as a large free orchestra, composed of European improvisers, including Fredrik Ljungkvist, Luis Vicente, Albert Cirera, Martin Küchen, and others.
Šalamon has recorded for European jazz labels such as Clean Feed Records, Fresh Sound New Talent, Not Two Records, Steeplechase Records, and Splash Records. As a composer, he has developed projects that synthesize contemporary jazz, classical music, and free improvisation.
Šalamon recorded the album Dolphyology, a collection of Eric Dolphy's music played on solo acoustic guitar. The album features 28 compositions by Eric Dolphy, rearranged for acoustic guitar, ranging from avant-garde to lyrical pieces.
In June 2022, Šalamon released Pure and Simple, a trio album with Norwegian bassist Arild Andersen and American drummer Ra-Kalam Bob Moses, followed by a European tour in October 2022.

## Dr. Jazz Talks interview series

Salamon has been producing and conducting an interview series entitled Dr. Jazz Talks, which presents video interviews with various jazz musicians (more than 500 interviews), including many jazz greats, such John Scofield, Bill Frisell, Joe Lovano, Chris Potter, Steve Swallow, Donny McCaslin, Simon Phillips, Scott Henderson, Steve Smith, Chad Wackerman, Mark Egan, Jimmy Haslip, Antonio Sanchez, Vijay Iyer, Lionel Loueke, Ralph Alessi, David Fiuczynski, Greg Osby, Randy Brecker, Bill Evans, Jeff Ballard, Larry Grenadier, Mike Stern, Ethan Iverson, Lage Lund, etc.

## Style

Salamon's style of guitar playing is based on his studies of jazz saxophonists Ornette Coleman and Eric Dolphy, as demonstrated on his first two albums Ornethology and Ela's Dream. His early guitar playing was influenced by guitarist John Scofield, while also drawing inspiration from players like John Abercrombie, Ben Monder, Adam Rogers, and Bill Frisell. His compositional style draws from different areas of jazz as well as modern classical composers such as Bela Bartok, Witold Lutoslawski, and Olivier Messiaen.

## Discography

| Release year | Title | Label | Line-up |
| 2025 | Dream Suites Vol. 1 | Samo Records | Dave Ballou, Russ Johnson, Tom Varner, Jeb Bishop, Curtis Hasselbring, Steve Swell, Chet Doxas, Ben Goldberg, Vinny Golia, Adam Kolker, Andrew Rathbun, Ned Rothenberg, Dan Willis, Ernst Reijseger, Rez Abbasi, Mike Baggetta, Jonathan Goldberger, Samo Salamon, Jerome Harris, Michael Cain, Steve Hunt, Jimmy Haslip, Chris Lightcap, Eivind Opsvik, Matt Pavolka, Tim Daisy, Ra Kalam Bob Moses |
| 2025 | Acoustic Duo | Samo Records | Martin Speake |
| 2024 | The Thinkers | Samo Records | Cene Resnik, Samuel Ber |
| 2024 | For the Listener Who Listens | Samo Records | Ronan Guilfoyle, Rafal Mazur |
| 2024 | Unlocking the Code | Samo Records | Kevin Miller |
| 2024 | Dances of Freedom | Samo Records | Vasil Hadžimanov, Ra-Kalam Bob Moses |
| 2023 | State of Grace | Samo Records | Bruce Saunders |
| 2023 | Electric Duo | Samo Records | Martin Speake |
| 2023 | Eating Poetry | Clean Feed Records | Emanuele Parrini, Vasco Trilla |
| 2023 | Rainbow Bubbles | Samo Records | Asaf Sirkis |
| 2022 | Before It Rains | Samo Records | Cene Resnik, Jost Drasler, Bojan Krhlanko |
| 2022 | Pure and Simple | Samo Records | Arild Andersen, Ra-Kalam Bob Moses |
| 2022 | Dolphyology | Samo Records | solo acoustic guitar |
| 2022 | Free Distance, Vol. 2: Poems are Opening | Fundacja Sluchaj | Emanuele Marsico, Alberto Mandarini, Mirko Cisilino, Luís Vicente, Emanuele Parrini, Marco Colonna, Achille Succi, Albert Cirera, Fredrik Ljungkvist, Christoph Irniger, Alberto Pinton, Beppe Scardino, Martin Küchen, Samo Salamon, Marcelo Dos Reis, Silvia Bolognesi, Vasco Trilla |
| 2022 | Joy and Sorrow | Klopotec Records | Samo Salamon, Sabir Mateen |
| 2021 | Unobservable Mysteries | Afterday Records | Samo Salamon, Francois Houle |
| 2021 | String Dancers | Samo Records | Samo Salamon, Hasse Poulsen |
| 2021 | Timelessness | Samo Records | Samo Salamon, Cene Resnik, Bojan Krhlanko |
| 2020 | Free Distance, Vol. 1: Love is More Thicker | Samo Records | Emanuele Marsico, Alberto Mandarini, Mirko Cisilino, Luís Vicente, Emanuele Parrini, Marco Colonna, Achille Succi, Albert Cirera, Fredrik Ljungkvist, Christoph Irniger, Alberto Pinton, Beppe Scardino, Martin Küchen, Samo Salamon, Marcelo Dos Reis, Silvia Bolognesi, Vasco Trilla |
| 2020 | Almost Alone Vol. 1 | Samo Records | Samo Salamon, Alex Machacek, Rafal Sarnecki, Cenk Erdogan, Andre Fernandes, Kalle Kalima, Jacob Young, Albert Vila, Dušan Jevtović, Lorenzo Di Maio, Philipp Schaufelberger, Spiros Exaras |
| 2020 | Common Flow | Samo Records | Samo Salamon, Igor Matković, Kristijan Krajnčan |
| 2020 | Rare Ebb | Samo Records | Samo Salamon, Igor Matković, Kristijan Krajnčan |
| 2019 | Punk You | Samo Records | Samo Salamon, Eva Poženel, Achille Succi, Bojan Krhlanko |
| 2019 | Swirling Blind Unstilled | Klopotec Records | Samo Salamon, Szilard Mezei, Jaka Berger |
| 2019 | Free Sessions Vol. 2: Freequestra | Klopotec Records | Samo Salamon, Matija Krecic, Bostjan Simon, Achille Succi, Ziga Murko, Domen Gnezda, Vitja Balzalorsky, Marko Crncec, Goran Krmac, Bojan Krhlanko, Jaka Berger |
| 2018 | Pure Magic | Alessa Records | Samo Salamon, Stefano Battaglia |
| 2018 | Peaks of Light | Samo Records | Samo Salamon, Howard Levy |
| 2018 | Traveling Moving Breathing | Clean Feed Records | Samo Salamon, Tony Malaby, Roberto Dani |
| 2017 | Free Sessions Vol. 1: Planets of Kei | Not Two Records | Samo Salamon, Achille Succi, Szilard Mezei |
| 2017 | The Colours Suite | Clean Feed Records | Samo Salamon, Julian Arguelles, Achille Succi, Pascal Niggenkemper, Christian Lillinger, Roberto Dani |
| 2016 | windS | Klopotec Records | Samo Salamon, Stefano Battaglia |
| 2016 | Unity | Samo Records | Samo Salamon, Julian Arguelles, John Hollenbeck |
| 2015 | Little River | Samo Records | Samo Salamon, Paul McCandless, Roberto Dani |
| 2014 | Ives | Samo Records | Samo Salamon, Manu Codjia, Mikkel Ploug |
| 2014 | 2 Alto | Steeplechase Records | Samo Salamon, Loren Stillman, John O'Gallagher, Roberto Dani |
| 2014 | Orchestrology | KGOSF Records | Samo Salamon, Roberto Dani, Slovene Philharmonic String Chamber Orchestra |
| 2013 | Stretching Out | Samo Records | Samo Salamon, Donny McCaslin, Dominique Pifarely, Bruno Chevillon, John Hebert, Gerald Cleaver, Roberto Dani |
| 2012 | Eleven Stories | Samo Records | Samo Salamon, Michel Godard, Roberto Dani |
| 2011 | Duality | Samo Records | Samo Salamon, Tim Berne, Achille Succi, Tom Rainey, Roberto Dani |
| 2011 | Almost Almond | Sanje Records | Samo Salamon, Drew Gress, Tom Rainey |
| 2009 | Live! | Samo Records | Samo Salamon, Michel Godard, Roberto Dani |
| 2008 | Mamasaal feat. Mark Turner | Dometra Records | Samo Salamon, Mark Turner, Matt Brewer, Aljoša Jerič |
| 2007 | Fall Memories | Splasc(h) Records | Samo Salamon, Luciano Biondini, Michel Godard, Roberto Dani |
| 2007 | Nano | Goga Records | Samo Salamon, Julian Arguelles, Michel Godard, Roberto Dani |
| 2006 | Government Cheese | Fresh Sound New Talent | Samo Salamon, David Binney, Josh Roseman, Mark Helias, Gerald Cleaver |
| 2006 | Kei's Secret | Splasc(h) Records | Samo Salamon, Achille Succi, Carlo DeRosa, Tyshawn Sorey |
| 2005 | Two Hours | Fresh Sound New Talent | Samo Salamon, Tony Malaby, Mark Helias, Tom Rainey |
| 2005 | Ela's Dream | Splasc(h) Records | Samo Salamon, Achille Succi, David Binney, Kyle Gregory, Paolino Dalla Porta, Zlatko Kaučič |
| 2003 | Ornethology | Samo Records | Samo Salamon, Achille Succi, Salvatore Maiore, Zlatko Kaučič |