WDR Big Band


WDR Big Band is the jazz big band of German public broadcaster Westdeutscher Rundfunk in Cologne, Germany.
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History

Origins

After World War II, the Kölner Rundfunk-Tanzorchester was active from 1947 at the Cologne radio station of Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk. The orchestra was renamed Kölner Tanz- und Unterhaltungsorchester in the same year, 1947.
On 1 January 1956, NWDR was divided into Norddeutscher Rundfunk and WDR in Cologne, which assumed the orchestra.

Orchestra Kurt Edelhagen

When WDR developed an interest in jazz, in 1957, Kurt Edelhagen was commissioned to set up a jazz big band in parallel to KTUO. He gathered staff from various European countries for the new Orchestra Kurt Edelhagen, an independent band. For 15 years, it successfully played, broadcast, and recorded in Cologne. In 1972, Edelhagen's annual work contract with WDR was terminated by the broadcaster which meant the end of his big band.

WDR Dance Orchestra and Big Band

All the time, the KTUO, true to its name, continued to present "Dance and Entertainment" music. In 1967, Werner Müller took over the orchestra, renamed it WDR Tanzorchester Werner Müller, and played in parallel to the Edelhagen Band on WDR until these were dismantled in 1972. In 1980, this Tanzorchester was renamed WDR Big Band. Later, from 1985 to 1994, Jerry van Rooyen was the musical director. Richmond wrote about this era: "Under the direction of van Rooyen, the band made perhaps its biggest strides musically, and enjoyed visibility on an international level."

In the present

In 2016, Bob Mintzer was engaged as chief conductor, and Vince Mendoza was introduced as the band's new "Composer in Residence".
WDR Big Band frequently invites jazz musicians to joint projects. It performs in concerts in WDR's home region, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and worldwide. Many of the concerts become part of WDR's on air programming and on social media.
WDR Big Band also takes part in the school concert program "WDR macht Schule" which, in 2022, included a concert with four young musicians of Sant Andreu Jazz Band from Barcelona and their director Joan Chamorro. Before, in 2021, Andrea Motis, an alumna of this Spanish youth band, visited WDR Big Band to record Colors and Shadows.
WDR Big Band has released WDR Big Band Play Along App for Android and iOS, allowing musicians to play virtually with the Band.
WDR Big Band has received several awards.

Band members

file:WDR Big Band feat Mokhtar Samba- Leverkusener Jazztage 2016-AL5313.jpg |thumbnail |WDR Big Band featuring Mokhtar Samba live at the Leverkusener Jazztage, 2016As of 2024, the band's lineup consists of:
  • Saxophones: Karolina Strassmayer,,, Ben Fitzpatrick, Jens Neufang
  • Trumpets: Andy Haderer, Rob Bruynen, Wim Both, Ruud Breuls
  • Trombones: Ludwig Nuss, Raphael Klemm, Andy Hunter, Mattis Cederberg
  • Rhythm section: Billy Test, Hans Dekker, John Goldsby
In 2004, Strassmayer was the first woman to join the orchestra. From 2014 to 2019, the orchestra also included a female trombone player, Shannon Barnett.

Awards

WDR Big Band has six times been nominated for a Grammy Award and won or contributed to four Grammy Awards.
At the 49th Grammy Awards of 2006, the band's album Some Skunk Funk, recorded at the Leverkusener Jazztage 2003, directed by Mendoza and featuring Will Lee and Randy and Michael Brecker, was awarded "Best album by a large jazz ensemble". In parallel, Michael Brecker posthumously received the Grammy for "Best Jazz Instrumental Solo" for the same song.
In 2008, at the 50th Grammy Awards celebration, the joint production between WDR Big Band and the singer Patti Austin, titled Avant Gershwin, was voted "Best Jazz Vocal Album" of the year. WDR Big Band with Mendoza won another Grammy in the category "Best Instrumental Arrangement" for the arrangement of "In a Silent Way", composed by Joe Zawinul. The recording is part of the live double album Brown Street, released in 2006.
In January 2021, WDR Big Band received the "2020 Innovation Award" by the German Orchestra Foundation for the "WDR Big Band Play Along App".
In 2021, their production Live at the Philharmonie, Cologne, conducted by Bill Laurance, won the in the category "Rundfunkproduktion des Jahres".

Discography (selection)

See and individual sources2022

Literature

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