Denmark counts the Danish Radio Big Band, also known as DR Big Band, among its leading large jazz ensembles. The group maintains a dynamic presence while pursuing a refined take on post-bop jazz and swing. Though already prominent through its roster of leading Danish musicians, the ensemble has strengthened its standing via repeated collaborations and recordings with internationally recognized jazz soloists. Bandleader Ib Glindemann created the organization in 1964 under its original name, New Radio Dance Orchestra, as an extension of Danmarks Radio’s, then the Danish Broadcasting Corporation’s, goal of supporting jazz within the country and on its airwaves. Since 2009 the band has operated from the Danish Broadcast Corporation’s Copenhagen headquarters DR Byen, or “DR City,” alongside other publicly funded arts ensembles.
The DR Big Band first appeared on record in 1970 with Brownsville Trolley, an album directed by saxophonist/composer Ray Pitts and trumpeter Palle Mikkelborg. Activity rose markedly in the 1970s once famed trumpeter Thad Jones, who had moved to Copenhagen, took the helm; releases from that period include the well-regarded 1978 album By Jones, I Think We’ve Got It and 1979’s A Good Time Was Had by All. Numerous live engagements also marked the band’s first three decades, pairing it with such figures as Stan Kenton, Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, Jimmy Heath, Freddie Hubbard, and others.
Additional albums emerged in the 1990s and began to spotlight artists such as saxophonist and guest conductor Ernie Wilkins on Suite for Jazz Band and Danish saxophonist Jesper Thilo, while further projects paid tribute to the music of Jones and Duke Ellington. The practice of centering an artist and that artist’s repertoire extended through the next decade in performances with Thomas Clausen, Toots Thielemans, Renee Rosnes, Eivor Palsdottir, Jim McNeely, and additional guests. In 2009 the band joined longtime Wynton Marsalis drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts for Impaler; guitarist Mike Stern appeared on the following year’s Chromazone. Trumpeter Randy Brecker anchored 2011’s The Jazz Ballad Song Book, and that same year lauded saxophonist Chris Potter participated in Transatlantic. Later projects involved Richard Bona, Vincent Nilsson, and the band’s own trumpeter Gerard Presencer on Groove Travels. Vocalist Curtis Stigers recorded his 2017 Frank Sinatra salute One More for the Road with the ensemble, while the live album Charlie Watts Meets the Danish Radio Big Band, drawn from a 2010 performance with the iconic Rolling Stones drummer, also appeared in 2017.
