WDR Big Band

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

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). The orchestra was renamed Kölner Tanz- und Unterhaltungsorchester (KTUO, Dance and Entertainment Orchestra of Cologne) in the same year, 1947.

On 1 January 1956, NWDR was divided into Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR, Hamburg) and WDR in Cologne which assumed the orchestra.

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.

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. 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 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 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. Before, in 2021, Andrea Motis (tr, voc), an alumna of this Spanish youth band, visited WDR Big Band to record Colors and Shadows.