History

Formed in 1946, the WDR Big Band initially focused on traditional and classical music, following the tradition of European radio orchestras. The band shifted towards jazz in 1957, when Kurt Edelhagen became the group’s leader. They eventually transitioned into a full jazz group, beginning their illustrious catalogue of recordings in the 1980s. Even in these early recording years, they collaborated with prominent American jazz musicians like Gil Evans, Jim McNeely, and John Scofield. Since then, the WDR Big Band has collaborated with countless jazz legends, and collected a Grammy Award for their album Some Skunk Funk (2005), which featured Michael and Randy Brecker. The band has become especially popular in the twenty-first century, in part because of their online presence. They upload many performance videos to Youtube, always with exceptional video and audio quality. These performances show renowned musicians in a different context, and feature top-notch playing from permanent members of the ensemble.