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| Dusko Goykovich's A Handful O' Soul In the summer of 2003 the president of the Republic of Serbia, Zoran Zivkovic, invited composer and trumpet player Dusko Goykovich to take an active part in the official celebration of 200 years of Serbian national identity. Born in 1931 in Jajce (Bosnia-Herzegovina), Goykovich had started his long international jazz career as an 18-year-old when joining the Radio Big Band of Belgrade. Dusko has been inspired by Serbian music for decades: He not only initiated the Balkan Jazz movement with his 1966 album "Swinging Macedonia" but has made good use of Balkan melodies and rhythms in most diverse jazz contexts. Of course, he accepted Zivkovic's offer with pleasure and suggested the creation of an international big band for this exceptional occasion. In February 2004 The International Jazz Orchestra was formed -- composed of extraordinary musicians from the United States, Japan, Germany, Italy, Great Britain, Belgium, Austria, France, Slovenia, and of course Serbia. With support from the Serbian state as well as the Embassy of the United States of America, Austrian Cultural Forum in Belgrade, British Council, French Cultural Centre, Goethe Institute, and Italian Cultural Institute, an international top event took place that was going to relaunch Serbian jazz life. After a sold-out concert the orchestra went into the studio for two days, and the result is an album that offers the essence of Dusko Goykovich's big band philosophy. Except for two special features for trombonist/singer Phil Abraham ("Don't Get Around Much Anymore") and ex-Basie orchestra altoist Brad Leali ("Jeep's Blues"), the album presents Dusko's arrangements throughout -- including great standard ballads ("I Fall In Love Too Easily", "Summertime") as well as his own evergreen originals: the soul-drenched "A Handful O' Soul", the odd-metered "Yugo Blues", the beboppish "Remember Dizzy" and the Serbian-influenced "Balkan Blue". With Dusko's relaxed arrangements and a bunch of thrilling solos by Britain's alto wizard Peter King, Germany's baritone giant Michael Lutzeier, the leader himself and others, "A Handful O' Soul" is a brilliant document of jazz orchestral maturity. write your comments about the article :: © 2005 Jazz News :: home page |