Aleksandar Sasha Karlic was born in 1968 in Yugoslavia, into a family that for generations had cultivated the traditional music of their country, as well as classical western music. Having started his musical studies in Belgrade, he moved to Italy in 1984 where he studied at the Music School in Fiesole, at the Conservatorio G. Verdi in Milan and at the Conservatorio A. Boito of Parma. He frequented masterclasses in various branches of early performing practice with, among others, Hopkinson Smith, Jacob Lindberg, Chrispopher Wilson, Jesper Boje – Christensen, Anner Bylsma.
After graduating in lute, he has become more and more involved in various branches of ethnic music, with particular interest in eastern lutes, traditional percussion instruments and the use of the voice. At the same time, he has cultivated his interest in anthropology, with particular regard to the Middle Eastern and Balcanic areas. Since 1995, he has mainly divided his activity between early and ethnical music, as a researcher, lecturer and, of course, as a performer.
He has been collaborating with Moni Ovadia for several years. He taken part, both in concert and in the recording studio, in various ethno-fusion works together with other renowned musicians, such as Vladimir Denissenkov, Jamal Ouassini and Daniele Sepe. He has also collaborated on different projects for the theatre, cinema, radio and television. Since 1997, he has been the director of the mediaeval and Renaissance group Theatrum Instrumentorum with which he has recorded eight CD's, every one of which obtained excellent reviews from Italian and international critics. In 2002, he curated a special issue of Amadeus (Italy's leading classical music magazine) with two CD's attached, dedicated to the ancient music of the three monotheistic religions, from Spain to the Middle East. In 2005, he curated a special issue of Amadeus dedicated to the city of Jerusalem.
Following a period with the Balcan music group Tri Muzike (winners of the 1999 first prize for World Music awarded by the "Musiche e Suoni del Mondo" festival), in 2003 he founded the supergroup Balkan Blues, with the leading musicians specialised in Eastern European repertoires active in Italy.
He was invited by the World Youth Orchestra to elaborate and orchestrate early and  traditional pieces from twelve countries of Mediterranian for the triumphal 2003/04 tour of the WYO in Italy, Israel and Palestina. His composition Iephyra for oud, violin and orchestra (based on the work of the 17th century Istanbul composer Zacharias Hanende), comissioned by the WYO for its 2004/05 tour, was first performed with enormous success in Rome and subsequently in Amman and Jerusalem.
In October 2004 he was appointed Head of Early and Ethnic instruments department at Musicaeuropa Private University in Rome, starting from academic year 2005.
He has recorded 18 CD's for various Italian, European and Japanese labels.