Dusko Gojkovic

Duško Gojković (Serbian Cyrillic: Душко Гојковић; 14 October 1931 – 5 April 2023) was a Serbian jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger. Gojković was born on 14 October 1931, in Jajce, Bosnia and Herzegovina, at the time part of Kingdom of Yugoslavia. He studied at the Belgrade Music Academy from 1948 to 1953. He played trumpet in dixieland bands and joined the big band of Radio Belgrade when he was eighteen. He moved to West Germany and first recorded as a member of the Frankfurt Allstars in 1956. He spent the next four years as a member of Kurt Edelhagen's orchestra.In these years, Gojković played with Chet Baker, Stan Getz, and Oscar Pettiford. In 1958, he performed at Newport Jazz Festival and drew attention on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. In 1961, Gojkovic received a scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music, where he studied with Herb Pomeroy.

In 1966, Gojković recorded in Cologne his album Swinging Macedonia, produced by Eckart Rahn. The album contained original compositions inspired by the music of the Balkans. In the following years, he performed with Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Gerry Mulligan, Sonny Rollins, Duke Jordan, and Slide Hampton. He worked with the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band from 1968–1973.In 1986, Gojković formed another orchestra. His next albums were Soul Connection (1994), Bebop City, Balkan Blue (1997), In My Dreams (2001), Samba do Mar (2003), and Samba Tzigane (2006). In 2004, he performed on the 200th anniversary of Serbian statehood. For the occasion he performed with an all-star big band. Two years Gojković celebrated his 75th birthday with a grand concert in Belgrade, a capitol of the Republic of Serbia.

The Brandenburg Concert – Dusko Goykovich With Strings came in 2013, showcasing Gojković performing live at Germany's Brandenburger Theatre, backed by the Brandenburg Orchestra. The same year, and recorded and titled to Duško Gojković & Big Band RTS featuring Martin Gjakonovski, Latin Haze, was released by PGP RTS in Serbia in 2014, while a year later it was issued in Germany on Enja with different cover and with one track missing.

Gojković died on 5 April 2023. in Munich, at the age of 91.