Kurt Edelhagen

A well-respected bandleader whose orchestras tended to emphasize swinging dance music but were open to boppish solos, Kurt Edelhagen was a major name in Germany for quite a few years. He studied piano and conducting, and then in 1946 formed his first big band. Edelhagen was a natural bandleader and he headed ensembles for the radio station in Frankfurt, in Nuremberg (1949-1952) and most notably the orchestra of Sudwestfunk (1952-1957) which sometimes looked towards Stan Kenton. In 1957 he joined Westdeustcher Rundfunk in Cologne which in time included such players as trumpeter...