Born on 20 April 1965 in Rijeka, Croatia, where he also lives. After finishing music school where he studied the violin, at the age of 15 he became bewitched by jazz music and the guitar. Pat Metheny, J. Scofield and S. Jordan were his role models and inspiration. He was particularly fascinated by guitarist Jordan with his ‘two hands tapping’ technique which Darko has employed successfully ever since. This technique is reminiscent of piano playing, when the musician touches the guitar fingerboard with both hands, as if playing the piano. This makes it possible to play the melody with one hand and play bass accompaniament at the same time. In 1997 he graduated from the school of performing arts in Graz, Austria (where he was taught by H. Pepl and W. Brase. This school is one of the oldest music institutions in Europe, which has been nurturing some of the best jazz performers on the continent. In 2000, Darko Jurkovič was voted best guitarist and personality of the year in Croatia. He has performed not only in Europe (Italy, Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic) but also in South America (Chile and Brazil). His repertoire consists of his own compositions, jazz greats, film melodies and music from the blues tradition.