Zuzana Leharová, is an Austrian jazz musician living in Germany.

Zuzana Leharová (born in Slovakia), is an Austrian violinist, composer and arranger living in Cologne. She is an improvisational musician rooted in various musical genres and styles, with a focus on jazz.

As bandleader of the Zuzana Leharová Quartet or "prominently" as a sidewoman, she is an integral part of the Cologne jazz scene and involved in various projects, where she is experienced as a versatile and energetic improviser.

She grew up in Tyrol, Austria, and after studying classical violin at the Innsbruck Conservatory, continued her studies at the Conservatory of Amsterdam and Maastricht, and finally completed her jazz violin studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Cologne, where she found formative teachers and mentors for her further musical career in Michael Gustorff, Claudius Valk, as well as Prof. Dieter Manderscheid and Sebastian Grams.

Since 2008, Zuzana Leharová has performed in numerous formations such as Urbanic Cycles , Multiple Choice Orchestra , John Betsch Society , Tabadoul Orchestra , in addition to her own projects, and has worked with artists such as, Angelika Sheridan , Angelika Niescier , Annette Maye , Carl Ludwig Hübsch , Carolin Pook , Bodek Janke , Elisabeth Coudoux , Filippa Gojo , John Betsch , Joscha Oetz , Nils Klein , Nils Tegen , Sebastian Stein and Simon Rummel.

Various tours have taken her all over Europe, the Middle East and China. In this country she could be heard with her bands at the Moers Festival, the Hildener Jazztage, Ruhr International and the Winterjazz Festival Cologne, among others.

In addition to various studio productions, and as a musician of the Rundfunk Tanzorchester Ehrenfeld (ZDF Neo), regular activities at the Düsseldorf Schauspielhaus resulted in a close collaboration with director Bob Wilson.

In Zuzana Leharová's music, the violin is at the center of the action. Sometimes melancholic and dreamy, sometimes nervous, biting and ecstatic. An unusual way of playing, in its phrasing sometimes similar to a wind instrument, which also allows clear vibratoless tones. Versatile, experimental, rich in colors, filigree, then again playing with full earthy sound, but also rhythmically percussive and explosive. Zuzana Leharová's compositions move between modern chamber jazz, with alienated elements of Slovak folklore, which combine with complex minimalist structures and the power of pulsating rhythms.

Her debut album - Knochenmann - was released in November 2020 on Jazzthing Next Generation / Doublemoon Records.