SWR Big Band

Germany's SWR Big Band is a dynamic ensemble with decades of experience as one of the premier large jazz outfits in Europe. Founded by Erwin Lehn in Stuttgart in 1951, the SWR Big Band initially started out as the Südfunk Tanzorchester, playing dance music on South German Radio. After Lehn's retirement in 1992 (and a renaming of the public radio station to Südwestrundfunk or SWR), the ensemble relaunched under the name the SWR Big Band. Benefiting from a rotating lineup of conductors as well a bevy of guest performers, they have released a long list of albums including 1993's ...