As a youngster in war-torn Kosovo, Taulant Mehmeti amazed local audiences with his songwriting talent and musicianship. Under the mentorship of renowned local jazz guitarist Armend Xhaferi, he developed into a leading jazz player in Kosovo and Albania.  Now an active performer on the New York scene, Mehmeti has played, as a leader and a sideman, in venues including Blue Note, B.B.Kings and Iridium just to name a few. Taulant's performances have taken him to over 20 countries and varied settings, among them: TED Talks, Prishtina Jazz Festival and DokuFest in Kosovo; Bern Jazz Festival, Switzerland; Reykjavik Jazz Festival, Iceland; Carthage Jazz Festival, Tunisia; International Gypsy Romanian Festival Bucharest; Tirana Jazz Festival and Shkodra Summer Jazz, Albania; Concert Noble Brussels, Belgium; Contours of Contemporary Kosovo Istanbul, Turkey; and in New York: Stars of Tomorrow - Hudson River Park, Jazz in the Square and Ideas City Festival - New Museum.  He has performed with artists such as Vic Juris (Dizzy Gilespie, Sarah Vaughan), Dave Glasser (Clark Terry), Luisito Quintero (Chick Corea), Danny Mixon (Betty Carter) and Linda Briceno (Arturo Sandoval).     His recently released debut jazz album Pinxhur'n'Pestil with his band Trio of Love, received positive press and garnered airplay, including a New Year's Eve live TV performance on KlanKosova network in Kosovo. Other notable recordings include his performance with Kosovo jazz drummer Nesim Maxhuni’s Hip-Bop Quintet release Syndrome; as well as his appearance on Ernesto Llorens' new album "On My Gypsy Way" featuring legendary gypsy guitarists Bireli Lagrene, Stochelo Rosenberg and Adrien Moingnard with whom he shared tracks. Taulant Mehmeti recently graduated from The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, holding the distinction for being the first jazz guitarist from Kosovo to study there.