Dusko Goykovich Receives Berklee Master of Global Jazz Award

Berklee President Roger H. Brown awarded legendary jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger Dusko Goykovich with the Berklee Master of Global Jazz Award at a ceremony streamed live on Friday, January 22, as part of the Kurt Maas Jazz Award at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich. Goykovich, who was accepted to Berklee on a full scholarship in 1961, is the second recipient of the Berklee Master of Global Jazz Award in the college’s history; the first was presented to Wayne Shorter in 2013.

Since 1955, Goykovich has been a major influence on the global jazz scene, performing and recording with luminaries such as Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Sonny Rollins, Lee Konitz, Chet Baker, and numerous others. He is best known for his unmistakable melodic phrasing and high-class ballad renditions on the trumpet, muted trumpet, and flugelhorn.

“Dusko has shown remarkable versatility throughout his career, from big band charts on his albums Balkan Connection and A Handful O’ Soul to symphonic arrangements featured on Balkan Blue to his Brazilian-inspired album Samba Do Mar, he never let himself be defined by a single genre,” said Brown in his remarks from the event. “Dusko Goykovich has cemented his status as a giant of jazz.”

The three finalists of this year's Kurt Maas Jazz Award were also recognized at the event. Composer and pianist Shuteen Erdenebaatar won the top prize, a scholarship to Berklee’s Aspire: Five-Week Music Performance Intensive. Double bassist Munguntovch Tsolmonbayar placed second, receiving the opportunity to perform at the nightclub in the Bayerischer Hof Hotel in Munich. The third-place prize went to singer Alma Naidu, who will receive placement for course credit at an international jazz academy.

The Kurt Maas Jazz Award is presented every two years at the Jazz Institute at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich. Founded in 2012 by Camilo Dornier '81, the competition serves to promote jazz students at the university and commemorate the late jazz musician, educator, entrepreneur, and Berklee alumnus Kurt Maas '65.