BIG BAND RTS

RTS Music Production

Big Band RTS is the only professional jazz ensemble in Serbia in the formation of big band. Founded in 1948, it quickly established itself as a performing group with excellent interpretations and eminent conductors, composers, and arrangers who led it, such as Mladen Bobi Guteša, Vojislav Bubiša Simić, Zvonimir Skerl, Duško Gojković, Stjepko Gut and others.

In the rich performing history of the RTS Big Band has received exceptional awards and recognitions, among which the First Prize at the Jazz Festival in Juan-les-Pins (1960) stands out. The ensemble has performed at many famous world festivals (Tel Aviv, Montreux, Marseille, Thessaloniki, Munich), concerts organized by UNICEF (Belgrade, Paris, Geneva), and always with great success and highly praised reviews.

The ensemble performed with the world’s biggest names in jazz music, such as Clark Terry, Benny Golson, Johnny Griffin, Maynard Ferguson, Tony Scott, Jerome Richardson, Ernie Wilkins, Alvin Quinn, Reggie Johnson, Eddie Henderson, Hank Mobley, John Hendrix, Roy Hargrove, Brad Lilley, Diana Schur, Don Menza, Steve Toure, Ronnie Kuber, Randy Brecker, John Feddis, Chuck Findley, Bobby Shue, Ak Van Rooyen, Peter Herbolzheimer, Ed Thigpen, Philly Joe Jones, Sal Nistico, Nathan Davis, Don Bajas, Larry Vuckovic, Lee Konitz, Heinz von Herrmann, Kenny Drew, Aladar Pege, Vic Vogel, Karlheinz Micklin, Adrian Mears, Peter King, Kirstof Lauer, Erling Kroner, Ilya Reijnhoud, Bert Joris, Gregory Hutchinson, Jens Winter, Jesse Davis, John Fedchok, Andrea Tofanelli, Simon Rigter, Samuel Blazer, and also stars of the world show business, including Ray Charles, Danny Kaye, Josephine Baker, Mireille Mathieu, Enrico Macias, Ani-Fried Lingstad (Abba) and others.

In the RTS Big Band discography, the studio albums “Jazz Orchestra of Radio Belgrade 1948-1978”, “Music of my Youth”, Stjepko Gut & Big Band RTS “Afro Balkan Sketches”, “Willy Johans and Big Band Radio Belgrade”, “Big Band of Radio Belgrade – 75 years of Radio Belgrade”, “Karavan”, “Its time for Jazz”, “Sweet Love”, Duško Gojković & Big Band RTS “Latin Haze”, “Balkan Soul”, Big Band RTS & Samuel Blazer “Aquarelle ” and “Mimo od Budva”.

The orchestra has given birth to a constellation of top soloists who are known and recognized in the world, such as Mile Pavlović, Bora Roković, Duško Gojković, Lala Kovačev, and Stjepko Gut.