Žan Plohl was born in 1995 in Slovenj Gradec, Slovenia. He began his musical journey at the Ravne na Koroškem Music School with Professor Samo Kolar, where he initially studied trumpet before transitioning to trombone, completing his studies in 2010. That same year, he enrolled in the Ravne na Koroškem High School, graduating in 2014. Alongside his high school program, in 2012, he continued his trombone studies at the Fran Korun Koželjski Music School in Velenje under Professor Alen Ojcinger. In 2015, he completed his studies in Velenje early and enrolled at the Gustav Mahler Private University in Klagenfurt (formerly the Carinthian State Conservatory), where he graduated in 2020 in the class of Professor Gerald Pöttinger. During a one-year study break, he trained under Professor Stanko Praprotnik, where he learned James Stamp's brass method. In the fall of 2021, he enrolled in the master's program at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, graduating in 2023 in the class of Professor Dušan Kranjc. His master's thesis explored motivation in brass teaching, under the mentorship of Dr. Katarina Habe.
He has further honed his musical skills through masterclasses with renowned trombonists, including Branimir Slokar, Fabrice Millischer, Henning Wiegräbe, Andreas Klein, Johann Reiter, Andreas Eitzinger, Lito Fontana, and James Kent. In jazz, notable mentors included trumpeters Kurt Weiss and Piotr Wojtasik, who guided him during the 2011-2013 Jazzinty international workshop in Novo Mesto.
Žan developed an interest in jazz during his time at the Ravne na Koroškem Music School when Professor Samo Kolar introduced him to the Jazz Ravne workshop, with Professor David Jarh as his mentor. As a high school student, he joined the Fran Korun Koželjski Music School Big Band in Velenje under Professor Jani Šuligoj, and in 2013, co-founded the jazz quartet Terra Nigra for performances at the Slovenian Jazz Festival.
In 2014, he joined the Carinthian soul and pop group FaušDur, collaborating with them until 2016, during which they participated in the 34th Melodies of the Sea and Sun festival. In 2017, he founded his own wind orchestra, Š’ta godba, with composer and arranger Luka Krof. This orchestra aims to revive recording projects from the past century by groups like the Alpski Kvintet, Ansambel bratov Avsenik, Franc Puhar Wind Orchestra, and RTV Ljubljana Wind Band. The orchestra performs at various festivals and live broadcasts produced by Radio Slovenia. Between 2018 and 2020, he collaborated with the Radlje Big Band, Dixie Shock Band, and singer Ditka Čepin.
In early 2021, he joined the newly formed group Dimme and Pedenjpedi to promote Dejan Dimec’s album Pentlje kravataste, for which he recorded trombone and euphonium. The group released an album titled Premlad za pomlad the following year. In 2021, he also began collaborating with the group Jazoo, performing at festivals domestically and internationally. During his studies in Ljubljana, he performed with the RTV Slovenia Big Band, the SNG Opera and Ballet Ljubljana Orchestra, the Slovenian Army Orchestra, the Bid Bang Radovljica, the Big Band Grosuplje, and others. He is a member of the studio band deFonos and has worked on children’s TV shows like Z kot Zofka and with the house band Diamanti in the TV show V petek zvečer on Television Slovenia. In 2023, he performed at the Slovenian Chanson Festival with singer Veronika Nikolovska and the group Dimme and Pedenjpedi.
Since childhood, he has been a member of the Prevalje Wind Orchestra and the Steelmakers' Wind Orchestra Ravne. He has been employed as a teacher of trombone, tuba, and euphonium at the Ljubljana Conservatory of Music and Ballet since 2022.