Jiggs Whigham

This album’s a listening pleasure for any music lover, but if you have a particular fondness for the trombone’s warm-toned vocal sound, this album’s a must – a once in a lifetime conclave of four of the instrument’s greats. There’s Dane Kai Winding, best known for his classic series of jazz albums with modern trombone icon J.J. Johnson. With his multiphonics and exploratory bent, Germany’s Albert Mangelsdorff was a major innovator on the instrument.

A major trombonist who is quite versatile, Jiggs Whigham has thus far not received the recognition that he deserves, possibly because he has spent a lot of time performing in Germany…

This album’s a listening pleasure for any music lover, but if you have a particular fondness for the trombone’s warm-toned vocal sound, this album’s a must – a once in a lifetime conclave of four of the instrument’s greats. There’s Dane Kai Winding, best known for his classic series of jazz albums with modern trombone icon J.J. Johnson. With his multiphonics and exploratory bent, Germany’s Albert Mangelsdorff was a major innovator on the instrument.

The Federal Jazz Orchestra, abbreviated and affectionately named BuJazzO by many, pays tribute to the legendary Clarke-Boland Big Band on its new album. The legendary international ensemble existed from 1961 to 1972 in Cologne and was led by American drummer Kenny Clarke and Belgian pianist, composer and arranger Francy Boland.

Whigham had piano and harmony lessons at the Cleveland Institute of Music from the age of seven. He started playing the trombone at the age of eleven; he was already engaged for concerts and even recordings during his school years.

German Youth Jazz Orchestra: Some might link this term with a stomping ground for highly talented prodigies or pigheaded kids who had got it into their heads to go their own way into jazz despite all good advice to do "something reasonable” instead. For some, it sounded like the conventional, big orchestral swing of the brand Basie, Ellington or Glenn Miller, not too complicated so that everyone could join, but always suitable to let it all hang out for once in an explosive horn section. True to the motto: They just want to play! Even if there were actually certain such tendencies at some time, they found their place in the dustbin of outdated prejudices long ago.

Trombonist Jiggs Whigham, a Cleveland native, returns to his city of origin for a wonderful set of music. Live at Nighttown: Not So Standards is a recording of Whigham and his international trio putting on a show at the storied Northwest Ohio jazz venue. Pianist Florian Weber from Germany and bassist Decebal Badila from Romania join Whigham on stage and show that jazz really is the international language. Both of these monsters have a nonstop supply of brilliant creativity and incredible facility!

This 1972 production is a potpourri of “live” festival big bands, starring some of the greatest jazz musicians of the time: the Nordic All-Stars with Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek of ECM fame, Poland’s Novi Singers and the Zurich International Festival All-Stars including Dexter Gordon and Art Farmer. These timeless performances sound as fresh today as when they were first recorded.

Jonny Teupen was one of the few who could make the harp swing. The late German musician, a classically trained harpist and composer who could play in an orchestra as well as any jazz band, enlisted top musicians from both jazz and rock to back him on this 1969 recording. The Günter Kallmann Choir, at the time internationally renowned, takes care of the nostalgic mood on Teupen’s relaxing “easy listening” compositions. What’s more, the nine-piece vocal group could come up with a swinging scat chorus. Teupen’s love for modern jazz is shown on the piece Harp Revolution; every member improvises over the theme and even dares venture into the realm of free jazz.

One of Europe’s most venerated band leaders, Swiss pianist-composer George Gruntz fronted small and large groups stacked with international jazz greats. This double album represents the 1980 version of Swiss pianist/composer Gruntz’s celebrated all-star international ‘Concert Jazz Band’. Over the years, each one of Gruntz’s bands was stacked with a new set of jazz greats, but his aim was always to mold the band in the Ellingtonian fashion: each member was picked, not only because he fitted into the group concept; it was especially important that he contributed a unique creative color to the band’s palette.