Ironically, Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne wrote "Let It Snow" in the summer of 1945. Penned in California during a heat wave, Cahn and Styne were clearly longing for a change of pace. This Torsten Maaß arrangement (from our recent Christmas live stream) features Ruud Breuls on trumpet and Mattis Cederberg on sousaphone. Conducted by Ansgar Striepens. | WDR Big Band

Hold that tiger! "Tiger Rag", originally recorded in 1917 by the "Original Dixieland Jass Band", is one of the most recorded tunes in jazz history, with version by classic artists like Art Tatum, Benny Goodman, Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington, Bix Beiderbecke, and Louis Armstrong, to bands like the Beatles and jazz contemporaries like Nicholas Payton. This version, arranged by Oded Lev-Ari features Anat Cohen on clarinet, Avishai Cohen on trumpet, Yuval Cohen on soprano sax, Andy Hunter on trombon

When it comes to Big Band repertoire, "The Atomic Mr. Basie" from 1958 is certainly one of the most classic albums of all time. The collaboration between The Count Basie Orchestra and composer/arranger Neal Hefti brought many musical gems into the world and one of the most well known is the classic "Splanky". Our version, from our recent Hefti celebration, is an arrangement by Jörg Achim Keller and features Billy Test on piano, Paul Heller on tenor sax and Raphael Klemm on trombone. Recorded liv

Adeste Fideles/O Come All Ye Faithful is one of the oldest and most beloved Christmas tunes, going back to the middle of the 1700's. This version is an arrangement is an arrangement by Rich DeRosa and was recorded in the "WDR Big Band Jazz Club" in Bocklemünd, conducted by Stefan Pfeifer-Galilea. We wish you all the best for 2 Advent! | WDR Big Band

We are very proud and happy to be able to present our new app, "WDR Big Band Play Along", giving you the opportunity to play along with us, featuring 5 (to begin with) original charts of various difficulty levels! Mix the individual tracks, play along or mute "your" instrument, read the music from the screen, or download it to print out. Have fun, and PLAY ALONG WITH US! Available today in the German App Store and Play Store. | WDR Big Band

WDR Big Band Meets Chien Chien Lu | Michael P. Mossman | Concert