After World War II, the Kölner Rundfunk-Tanzorchester (Cologne Radio Dance Orchestra) was active from 1947 at the Cologne radio station of Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk (NWDR).[1]
The orchestra was renamed Kölner Tanz- und Unterhaltungsorchester (KTUO, Dance and Entertainment Orchestra of Cologne) in the same year, 1947.[1]
On 1 January 1956, NWDR was divided into Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR, Hamburg) and WDR in Cologne[2]
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.[3]
He gathered staff from various European countries[4] for the new Orchestra Kurt Edelhagen, an independent band. For 15 years, it successfully played, broadcast and recorded in Cologne.[5] In 1972, Edelhagen's annual work contract with WDR was terminated by the broadcaster[6]
which meant the end of his big band.
WDR Dance Orchestra and Big Band
WDR Big Band Köln (2009)
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[3] and played in parallel to the Edelhagen Band on WDR until these were dismantled in 1972. 1980, this Tanzorchester was renamed WDR Big Band.[7] Later, from 1985 to 1994, Jerry van Rooyen was the musical director.[8] 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."[8]
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".[9]
WDR Big Band frequently invites jazz musicians to joint projects.[10] It performs in concerts in WDR's home region North Rhine Westphalia, Germany and worldwide. Many of the concerts become part of WDR's program on air and in social media (e.g. Facebook and YouTube).
WDR Big Band also takes part in the school concert program "WDR macht Schule" ("WDR catches on") which, in 2022, included a concert with four juvenile musicians of Sant Andreu Jazz Band from Barcelona and their director Joan Chamorro.[11]
Before, in 2021, Andrea Motis (tr, voc), an alumna of this Spanish youth band, visited WDR Big Band to record Colors and Shadows.[12]
WDR Big Band has released WDR Big Band Play Along App for Android and iOS, allowing musicians to play virtually with the Band.[13]
As of 2024, the band's lineup consists of:[14] Saxophones: Karolina Strassmayer (as), Johan Hörlén (as), Paul Heller (ts), Ben Fitzpatrick (ts), Jens Neufang (bs)
Trumpets: Andy Haderer, Rob Bruynen, Wim Both, Ruud Breuls
Trombones: Ludwig Nuss, Mattis Cederberg, Raphael Klemm, Andy Hunter
Rhythm section: Billy Test (keys), Hans Dekker (d), John Goldsby (b)
In 2004, Strassmayer was the first woman to join the orchestra.[15]
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[16] 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, 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.[17]
2008, at the 50th Grammy Awards celebration, the joint production between WDR Big Band and the singer Patti Austin, "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.[18]
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".[19]
2021, their production Live at the Philharmonie, Cologne, conducted by Bill Laurance, won the Deutscher Jazzpreis (German Jazz Award) in the category "Rundfunkproduktion des Jahres" (broadcast production of the year).[20]
^Laurentius, Martin (8 June 2020). "100: Kurt Edelhagen". jazzthing.de (in German). Verlag Axel Stinshoff. Retrieved 19 April 2023. ...etablierte Edelhagen ab dem 1. April 1957 im Auftrag des Westdeutschen Rundfunks (WDR) in Köln eine international besetzte Bigband. - on behalf of WDR, from April 1, 1957, Edelhagen established in Cologne an international big band.
^Kennedy, Gary W. (20 January 2002). "WDR Big Band". (grovemusic search). Retrieved 21 April 2023. successful big band for WDR, which he led on radio, on tour, and in recording sessions from 1957 to 1973.
^Mau, Thomas (1 April 2019). "Kurt Edelhagen beim Kölner Jazzweekend (1972)" [Kurt Edelhagen at the Cologne Jazz Weekend]. radiohoerer.info (in German). Retrieved 19 April 2023. Beim Jazzweekend 1972 galt noch der Werkvertrag zwischen dem WDR und Bandleader Kurt Edelhagen. Ende jenes Jahres aber wurde dieser Vertrag nicht mehr verlängert. - At the Jazzweekend 1972 the work contract between WDR and bandleader Kurt Edelhagen was still valid. At the end of the year, it wasn't prolonged though.
^Kennedy 2002. "By the late 1970s, the WDR Tanzorchester had lost much of its popularity, and the decision was made to transform it into a jazz big band modeled after that of Edelhagen. In 1980 it became the WDR Big Band"
^"Wir möchten sie nicht mehr missen". jazzzeitung.de (in German). September 2005. Retrieved 21 April 2023. Als vor einem Jahr mit der Altsaxophonistin Karolina Strassmayer erstmals eine Frau in die renommierte WDR Big Band Köln aufgenommen wurde [...]
^Caterina Valente and WDR Big Band Cologne (1990). Kurt Weill – American Songs (CD). Bear Family Records (published 2000). BCD 16044 AH. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
