Damir Kukuruzović (20 August 1975 – 12 December 2020) was a

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

n jazz guitarist. He was the most famous Croatian representative of

gypsy jazz Gypsy jazz (also known as sinti jazz, gypsy swing, jazz manouche or hot club-style jazz) is a musical idiom inspired by the Romani people, Romani jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, Jean "Django" Reinhardt (1910–1953), in conjunction with the Fr ...

Biography

Born in

Sisak Sisak (; also known by other alternative names) is a city in central Croatia, spanning the confluence of the Kupa, Sava and Odra rivers, southeast of the Croatian capital Zagreb, and is usually considered to be where the Posavina (Sava basin ...

, Kukuruzović was the founder of the Damir Kukuruzović Django Group, with whom he recorded several albums and played at numerous international jazz festivals. He also performed with musicians such as

Stochelo Rosenberg Stochelo Rosenberg (born 19 February 1968) is a Gypsy jazz guitarist who leads the Rosenberg Trio. Biography Rosenberg started playing guitar when he was ten years old. A member of the Sinti, he heard music often at home and from relatives. Wit ...

Paulus Schäfer Paulus Schäfer (born 31 March 1978) is a guitarist, composer, and arranger from the Netherlands. A member of the Dutch Sinti-Romani, he considers Django Reinhardt his idol. He has worked with Stochelo Rosenberg, Fapy Lafertin, Tim Kliphuis, Ji ...

Angelo Debarre Angelo Debarre (; born August 19, 1962) is a French Romani gypsy jazz guitarist. Biography Debarre was born in Saint-Denis, Paris, and began playing at age eight. In 1984, he formed his first group, the Angelo Debarre Quintet. In 1985, the ...

Raphaël Faÿs Raphaël Faÿs is a French gypsy jazz and classical guitarist and composer who was born in Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimat ...

, Ludovic Beier, Wawau Adler, Yorgui Loeffler,

Joscho Stephan Joscho Stephan (born 23 June 1979 in Mönchengladbach, West Germany) is a German jazz guitarist who is known for his interpretation of classical, jazz and pop standards in the style of Gypsy jazz. He began playing the guitar at the age of six, i ...

Vlatko Stefanovski Vladimir "Vlatko" Stefanovski ( ; born January 24, 1957) is a Macedonians (ethnic group), Macedonian folk rock, ethno-rock jazz fusion guitar virtuoso. Biography Vlatko was born into a typical theatrical family. His parents, as artists, often ...

and Robin Nolan. In 2019 he recorded the hit Zoran pjeva Arsena with

Zoran Predin Zoran Predin (born 16 June 1958) is a Slovenian singer-songwriter from Maribor. In the 1980s, he was the front man of the new wave rock band ''Lačni Franz''. He also writes music for film, television, and theatre. In the late 1990s and early 20 ...

. He was also the founder-director of the Siscia Jazz Club and organizer of the Siscia Open Jazz & Blues Festival and other jazz festivals in Croatia. In 2011, Kukuruzović was awarded the prize for the most famous acoustic jazz guitarist in Croatia. In 2013 he was honored for exceptional guitar skills and the promotion of Croatian jazz music in the world. In the election campaign for the

2011 Croatian parliamentary election Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number) * One of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''Eleven'', a 1970 collection of short stories by Patricia Highsmith *''Eleve ...

, Kukuruzović supported the right-wing

Croatian Party of Rights The Croatian Party of Rights (, HSP) is an Extra-parliamentary opposition, extra-parliamentary Croatian nationalism, nationalist and Neo-fascism, neo-fascist List of political parties in Croatia, political party in Croatia. The word "right(s)" i ...

; in the election for the city council in Sisak in 2013, he stood as a candidate for their split-off Croatian Party of Rights Dr. Ante Starčević. Kukuruzović died from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

on 12 December 2020, at age 45, during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Croatia The COVID-19 pandemic in Croatia has resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths. The first case in the Republic of Croatia was reported in Zagreb on 25 February 2020, when a patient who had come from Italy was tested positive. On the ...

, after being hospitalized in Zagreb for several weeks.Od covida umro Siščanin Damir Kukuruzović (45), jedan od najboljih svjetskih jazz gitarista
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References

External links

Official website

Damir Kukuruzović on Jazz.hr

Damir Kukuruzović on Discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kukuruzovic, Damir 1975 births 2020 deaths Croatian musicians Jazz guitarists Croatian jazz musicians People from Sisak Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Croatia