When legendary Serbian trumpeter/composer Dusko Goykovich was given the chance in 1973 to record with his prominent band and the brass and woodwind sections of the NDR Radio Orchestra Hannover, he conjured up this Balkan Jazz Suite out of the top drawer.
He employed an old companion of the late Fifties to do the arrangements, Hans Hammerschmid who had studied with Eddie Sauter and earned his living as film composer and artistic supervisor to actress Hildegard Knef’s projects. Goykovich was influenced by his time playing with the band leader Maynard Ferguson, the grooving Kenny Clarke - Francy Boland Big Band and with the post-bop Woody Herman orchestra and the great Gil Evans. The eight-part suite that resulted was mostly informed by the harmonic colourings and melodic lines of his native Balkan music.
The suite is performed by the core quartet of Gokyovich on flugelhorn, Fritz Pauer on piano, Peter Trunk on bass (on one of his last recordings, this immensely important musician on the German Jazz scene was killed by car accident in NY 1973) and Tony Inzalaco on drums - all with added horns from the NDR Radio Orchestra, who work beautifully to flesh out the vision of the leader. ‘Sketches Of Yugoslavia’ is a gem from the archives from the days when German radio stations could afford the luxury of lavish large ensemble productions.
