Ugljesa Novakovic obtained university education and his Master’s degree abroad and studied saxophone at the Jazz department of the University of Arts in Graz, Austria. He was lucky enough that he had an opportunity to study with master Don Menza and to attend numerous workshops lead by giants like Dick Oatts, Bob Mintzer, Dave Liebma, Jerry Bergonzy etc.

Throughout his studies Novakovic performed extensively, being engaged in his own projects, as well as working with a number of great musicians from different musical fields such as Gregory Hutcherson, Tony Lakatosh, Mario Gonzy, Dusko Gojkovic and many more, orchestras like Big Band RTSerbia, Big Band CroatianTV, Soul Conection Big Band, Belgrade Saxophone Quartet and many others. He has been touring extensively throughout Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Austria but also throughtout other Europian contries.

What he creates is a unique type of modern jazz, avantgarde, free jazz and impressionistic contemporary music but strongly rooted in tradition, performed with a great deal of knowledge and love, giving prominence to the interplay between band members. He recently published his solo debut album “Tales From the Past” which got excellant critics and is influenced by masters like John Coltrane, Kenny Garrett, Miles Davis but still having his own voice and authenticity.

His new album "Reflections" pubblished by A.MA Records  A.MA Edizioni will be released in April 2021