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The BBC Big Band, originally known as the BBC Radio Big Band is a British

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...

, previously run under the auspices of the British Broadcasting Corporation (

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). The band broadcasts exclusively on BBC Radio, particularly on BBC Radio 2's long-running series '' Big Band Special''. It consists of professional musicians and is directed by a number of conductors. These include arranger and composer Barry Forgie, who has been the band's Musical Director since 1977, American jazz trombonist

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 ...

, and guest musical directors.

History

The BBC Big Band’s origins lie in the earliest days of the BBC when the BBC Dance Orchestra was formed in 1928 under the leadership of Jack Payne before Henry Hall took over in 1932.

Benny Carter Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...

was hired as the arranger from 1935 to 1938. In the 1950s, the format and purpose of the Dance Orchestra was changed and modernised, and it became a big band with strings in the Billy May style, known as the BBC Showband, under the leadership of

Cyril Stapleton Cyril Stapleton (31 December 1914 – 25 February 1974) was an English violinist and jazz bandleader. Biography Born Horace Cyril Stapleton in Mapperley, Nottingham, England, Stapleton began playing violin at the age of seven, and played on loc ...

. The band, featuring many British jazz players, was heavily featured on the

BBC Light Programme The BBC Light Programme was a national radio station which broadcast chiefly mainstream light entertainment and light music from 1945 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 1. It opened on 29 July 1945, taking over the ...

and also began to be used widely in television in the company of homegrown talent, including a then unknown

Matt Monro Matt Monro (born Terence Edward Parsons, 1 December 1930 – 7 February 1985) was an English singer. Known as "The Man with the Golden Voice", he performed internationally during his 30-year career. AllMusic has described Monro as "one of the m ...

, and with international stars such as Frank Sinatra and Nat ‘King’ Cole. The BBC Big Band came into existence in 1964 when the existing BBC Variety Orchestra and BBC Revue Orchestra were amalgamated creating the

BBC Radio Orchestra The BBC Radio Orchestra was a broadcasting orchestra based in London, maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation from 1964 until 1991. The BBC Radio Orchestra was formed in 1964 as a large, flexible studio orchestra on the Nelson Riddle/H ...

. The

was a large flexible studio ensemble on the Nelson Riddle/

Henry Mancini Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini, ; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flautist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Award ...

model, with a full jazz Big Band and symphonic strings. The BBC Big Band made up the orchestra's brass, reed and rhythm sections, and was nominally the orchestra's jazz wing. The various sections of the Radio Orchestra, prefixed A-D, could be used for different kinds of recordings and the ''"C1"'' section of the BBC Radio Orchestra was known as the BBC Radio Big Band. The orchestra was initially directed by

Malcolm Lockyer Malcolm Neville Lockyer (5 October 1923 – 28 June 1976) was a British film composer and conductor. Biography Lockyer was born in Greenwich, London, England. In his early years he developed an interest in dance and from here gathered an interest ...

, who had previously directed the BBC Showband and BBC joined by various arrangers and guest conductors, including

Barry Forgie Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 195 ...

in 1977, who remains the big band’s Musical Director. At the outset, the big band was sometimes known within the BBC as the 'Radio Dance Orchestra' or 'Radio Showband', utilising some of the names the band had been previously known under, but it was officially called the Radio Big Band from 1964. For the most part, it has been a standard-sized big band, comprising four trumpets, four trombones, five saxophones (all of whom double on various reed and wind instruments) and a rhythm section of piano (doubling keyboards), guitar, double bass (doubling bass guitar), drums and percussion (including vibes and Latin instruments). For various projects, the band has also seen regular augmentation with additional instruments including French horns, tubas, extra wind and on occasion large groups of strings, particularly the

BBC Concert Orchestra The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British concert orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five BBC orchestras which is not a full-scale sym ...

, (effectively recreating the line-up of the BBC Radio Orchestra). The BBC Radio Big Band was also complemented by similar ensembles throughout the UK, including the

BBC Northern Dance Orchestra The BBC Northern Dance Orchestra was a big band run by the BBC and formed in 1956 as the successor to the BBC's Northern Variety Orchestra, which had been formed on 1 April 1951. Known to listeners as the NDO, it broadcast on the radio daily, usual ...

in Manchester and the

BBC Scottish Radio Orchestra The BBC Scottish Radio Orchestra (SRO) was a light music broadcasting orchestra based in Glasgow, Scotland, maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation from 1940 until disbandment in 1981. History Established by the BBC in 1940 as the S ...

in Glasgow (which was also known as the Radio Scotland Big Band). The band was used across a huge variety of BBC Radio programmes, its main features included ''Jazz Parade'', ''Saturday Swings'' and ''Saturday Night'', accompanying singers and performing instrumental versions of popular tunes. Though staffed with many jazz soloists, the band had little in the way of dedicated jazz output and was used primarily as a light-music ensemble and dance band. But in 1979, a significant development took place which led to the band establishing its own identity as a dedicated jazz orchestra when '' Big Band Special'' began. Originally commissioned as a series of 12 shows, such was the impact made by the BBC Big Band in this show that the run was extended. The programme remained a key part of Radio 2’s Monday night programming up to 2013, latterly presented by jazz singer and broadcaster

Clare Teal Clare Teal (born 14 May 1973) is an English singer and broadcaster who has become famous not only for her singing, but also for having signed the biggest recording contract by a British jazz singer. Biography Teal was brought up in the Kildwic ...

. The band also found a home on BBC Radio 3's Jazz Parade. In a shake-up of musical policy at the BBC, the corporation disbanded the BBC Radio Orchestra in 1991, retaining the Big Band. But, in 1994, the BBC once again announced that it had decided to dismantle the Big Band. However, due to overwhelming public opposition to the decision, an agreement was reached, whereby the band would continue to exist, but would be managed outside the BBC and its musicians would be freelance rather than BBC staff. The BBC Big Band has been voted the best Big Band in the

British Jazz Awards British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

in 1992, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2007, 2013 and 2014. The band has played with musicians such as

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...

Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer. A four-time Grammy Award winner, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American Songboo ...

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birt ...

George Shearing Sir George Albert Shearing, (13 August 1919 14 February 2011) was a British jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group that recorded for Discovery Records, MGM Records and Capitol Records. Shearing was the composer of over 300 ...

Michel Legrand Michel Jean Legrand (; 24 February 1932 – 26 January 2019) was a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, and jazz pianist. Legrand was a prolific composer, having written over 200 film and television scores, in addition to many son ...

, Cleo Laine,

John Dankworth Sir John Phillip William Dankworth, CBE (20 September 1927 – 6 February 2010), also known as Johnny Dankworth, was an English jazz composer, saxophonist, clarinettist and writer of film scores. With his wife, jazz singer Dame Cleo Laine, he ...

, Lalo Schifrin,

Dr. John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B. Active as a session musician from ...

Mel Torme Mel, Mels or MEL may refer to: Biology * Mouse erythroleukemia cell line (MEL) * National Herbarium of Victoria, a herbarium with the Index Herbariorum code MEL People * Mel (given name), the abbreviated version of several given names (including ...

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

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, Mark Murphy,

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, Clark Terry,

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, Koop, Claire Martin, Ian Shaw,

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, The Manhattan Transfer,

Buddy Greco Armando Joseph "Buddy" Greco (August 14, 1926 – January 10, 2017) was an American jazz and pop singer and pianist who had a long career in the US and UK. His recordings have sold millions, including "Oh Look A-There Ain't She Pretty", " Up, Up ...

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and

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. The band regularly features on the UK jazz festival circuit, and concert tours with major artists have taken the band all over the world in addition to its regular concert recordings throughout the UK for BBC Radio. It also links, from time to time, with the

, for concerts and broadcasts. The band has also been conducted by notable members of the big band and jazz world including Billy May,

Robert Farnon Robert Joseph Farnon CM (24 July 191723 April 2005) was a Canadian-born composer, conductor, musical arranger and trumpet player. As well as being a composer of original works (often in the light music genre), he was commissioned by film and ...

, Les Brown, Tommy Watt,

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, Bill Russo,

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, Roy Hargrove,

Thad Jones Thaddeus Joseph Jones (March 28, 1923 – August 20, 1986) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader who has been called "one of the all-time greatest jazz trumpet soloists". Biography Thad Jones was born in Pontiac, Michigan, U ...

, Mike Abene, Brian Fahey, Steve Gray,

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, Mark Nightingale and Steve Sidwell. The band is also directed on occasions by its longstanding baritone saxophonist Jay Craig.

Current operations

Initially, the BBC Big Band was formed of contracted BBC staff, as with all of the BBC’s orchestras. However, following an agreement reached in 1994, the band was able to retain their name whilst operating as freelance musicians. The final episode of ''Big Band Special'' aired on BBC Radio 2 in 2013. Currently, the band is contracted to perform in live events (such as '' Friday Night Is Music Night'' and

BBC Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

) and can be heard on BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 3,

BBC Radio Scotland BBC Radio Scotland is a Scotland, Scottish radio station, radio network owned and operated by BBC Scotland, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts a wide variety of programmes. It replaced the Scottish BBC Radio 4 opt-out service of the same na ...

and BBC World Service. Since 2007, the BBC Big Band has been an associate ensemble at Birmingham Town Hall, performing regularly in concert and participating in community and education projects. The BBC Big Band is also invited to perform in locations across the UK. In 2017, an episode of the BBC sitcom ''

W1A The W (Western and Paddington) postcode area, also known as the London W postcode area is a group of postcode districts covering part of central and part of West London, England. The area originates from the Western (W1) and Paddington (W2-14) ...

'' featured the fictional “BBC Big Swing Band”, and the controversy attracted by their proposed disbanding. The programme ends with the central character Ian Fletcher seemingly improvising a policy position live on BBC News, which ends with him announcing a new “creative and commercial freedom” for the BBC Big Swing Band. This seems to echo the BBC Big Band’s own real-life relationship with the BBC in the 1990s.

Members

Trumpets

* Mike Lovatt * Pat White * Danny Marsden * Martin Shaw

Trombones

* Gordon Campbell * Andy Wood * Ashley Horton * John Higginbotham

Saxophones

* Howard McGill * Sammy Mayne * Paul Booth * Martin Williams * Jay Craig

Piano

* Robin Aspland

Guitar

* Tommy Emmerton

Bass

* Jeremy Brown

Drums

* Tom Gordon

Percussion

Anthony Kerr Anthony Kerr is a British jazz vibraphone player, who has performed and recorded internationally with Georgie Fame, Charlie Watts, BBC Big Band, Robbie Williams, Joe Lovano, Jacqui Dankworth, and Courtney Pine. His compositions have been broadcas ...

References

External links

BBC Big Band website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Big Band, Bbc Big bands BBC Orchestras BBC Radio Radio and television orchestras Musical groups established in 1928 Radio and television house bands