Dusko Gojkovic Day
October 14, 1931 – April 05, 2023
A tribute to the boppish trumpeter
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Trumpeter Dusko Gojkovic (whose name is sometimes spelled Goykovich) passed away on April 5, 2023, at the age of 91.
He was born in Jajce, Yugoslavia on Oct. 14, 1931, studied at the Belgrade Music Academy (1948-53), and gained experience playing in Dixieland bands and in the Radio Belgrade Big Band.
While in his twenties, Gojkovic moved to West Germany and for four years was a member of Kurt Edelhagen’s Orchestra.
Gojkovic had opportunities to play with Chet Baker, Stan Getz, and Oscar Pettiford (with whom he recorded in 1958-59), and performed at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1958 with the International Youth Band.
He led his first album in 1959, studied at Berklee in the early 1960s, and made recordings with Kenny Clarke (The Golden Eight on Blue Note), Buddy Collette, and the European All-Stars.
Gojkovic worked and recorded with Maynard Ferguson in 1963, the Woody Herman Orchestra during 1964-65, and the Francy Boland/Kenny Clarke Big Band.
While mostly based in Germany, Gojkovic (who occasionally visited the U.S.) often performed with Americans; among those with whom he recorded (often as a leader) were Carl Fontana, Nathan Davis, Mal Waldron, Jon Hendricks, Johnny Griffin, Slide Hampton, Horace Parlan, Charles McPherson, Kenny Drew, Jimmy Heath, Tommy Flanagan, and Scott Hamilton (with whom he co-led albums in 2011 and 2015).
From 2001, Dusko Gojkovic is showcased with the Sarajevo Big Band playing flugelhorn on “Doboy.”
-Scott Yanow
