Jiggs Whigham
Jiggs Whigham (born Oliver Haydn Whigham III; August 20, 1943) is an American jazz trombonist. Biography Born in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, he began his professional career at the age of 17, joining the Glenn Miller/Ray McKinley orchestra in 1961. He left that band for Stan Kenton, where he played in the touring "mellophonium" band in 1963, then settled in New York City to play commercially. Frustrated with commercial playing, Whigham migrated to Germany, where he still lives. He taught at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin. He played for many years in the big band of Kurt Edelhagen, was a featured soloist in the Bert Kaempfert orchestra, and was also a member of the Peter Herbolzheimer band. He is widely admired by trombonists and other musicians for his fluent and expressive playing, and has produced an extensive discography as a leader, including work with Bill Holman, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Carl Fontana, and many others. In more recent years, Whigham has been musical director of the RIAS Big Band in Berlin, Germany. He is formerly conductor of the BBC Big Band in Great Britain and currently co-director of the Berlin Jazz Orchestra with singer Marc Secara. He is featured on the Berlin Jazz Orchestra albums Update, You're Everything, Songs of Berlin and music DVD (Polydor/Universal) Strangers In Night - The Music Of Bert Kaempfert. He was visiting tutor and artist at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester and KUG in Graz, Austria. He is artist-in-residence for the Conn-Selmer company, maker of the King Jiggs Whigham model trombone. He continues to tour worldwide as soloist, conductor, and educator. Since 2008 he has been a regular musical director for the Bundesjazzorchester working with the top student jazz musicians in Germany. He makes his home in Bonn-Bad Godesberg, Germany and Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Discography Values (MPS, 1971) The Jiggs Up (Capri, 1988) First Take (Mons, 1994) Hope (Mons, 1995) Jiggs & Gene (Azica, 1996) Blue Highway: The Music of Paul Ferguson (Azica, 1998) Jazz Meets Band (1999) The Heart & Soul of Hoagy Carmichael (TNC Jazz, 2002) Two-Too (Summit, 2006) Live at Nighttown: Not So Standards (Azica, 2015) With the Berlin Jazz Orchestra 2004 Update 2007 You're Everything 2012 Strangers In Night - The Music Of Bert Kaempfert DVD 2021 Songs of Berlin 2022 Crosscurrents With the hr-Bigband Strangers in the Night: The Music of Bert Kaempfert (Polydor, 2006) As sideman With Carl Fontana 1999 Nice 'n' Easy 2002 Keepin' up with the Boneses With Peter Herbolzheimer 1973 Wide Open 2005 Toots Suite 2006 Getting Down to Brass Tracks With Stan Kenton 1964 Artistry in Voices and Brass 1964 Stan Kenton presents Jean Turner 1998 Concert in England 2000 Live at Newport: 1959, 1963, 1971 2001 Back to Balboa: Tribute to Stan Keaton, Vol. 6 2003 At Brant Inn 1963 With Kenton Alumni Band 1992 50th Anniversary Celebration: The Best of Back to Balboa 1995 50th Anniversary Celebration: Back to Balboa 1995