The Almost Big Band was a 13 piece

jazz band A jazz band (jazz ensemble or jazz combo) is a musical ensemble that plays jazz music. Jazz bands vary in the quantity of its members and the style of jazz that they play but it is common to find a jazz band made up of a rhythm section and a ho ...

formed by

Ernie Wilkins Ernest Brooks Wilkins Jr. (July 20, 1922 – June 5, 1999) was an American jazz saxophonist, conductor and arranger who spent several years with Count Basie. He also wrote for Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, and Dizzy Gillespie. He was musical direct ...

in 1980 after his permanent move to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. Members included expatriate American such as

Kenny Drew Kenneth Sidney "Kenny" Drew (August 28, 1928 – August 4, 1993) was an American-Danish jazz pianist. Biography Drew was born on August 28, 1928, in New York City, United States, and he received piano lessons from the age of five. Feather, ...

and

Ed Thigpen Edmund Leonard Thigpen (December 28, 1930 – January 13, 2010) was an American jazz drummer, best known for his work with the Oscar Peterson trio from 1959 to 1965. Thigpen also performed with the Billy Taylor trio from 1956 to 1959. Biograph ...

as well as prominent Danish jazz musicians such as

Jesper Thilo Jesper Thilo (born 28 November 1941) is a Danish jazz musician, mainly known as a tenor saxophonist, alto saxophonist and clarinetist. He is considered to be one of the top European straight-ahead jazz musicians of the post-1970 period. Ben ...

and Bent Jaedig. Mainly an

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestrat ...

, Wilkins created the band so he could write for a band of his own formation. In America the band remained underrated and overlooked.

Current members

* Benny Rosenfeld, lead trumpet * Mårten Lundgren, trumpet *

Gerard Presencer Gerard Presencer (born 12 September 1972) is an English jazz trumpeter. Biography Presencer showed his first interest in what was to become his chosen instrument, the trumpet, at the age of nine. He attributes his early determination to becom ...

, trumpet *

Vincent Nilsson Vincent Nilsson is a Swedish jazz trombonist and arranger. Biography Nilsson played in the orchestra on the Miles Davis recording '' Aura'' in 1985. Nilsson recorded ''Jazz Trombone Spirituals'' for Storyville Records in 1998. On the album, he u ...

, lead trombone * Kim Aagaard, trombone * Jan zum Vohrde, lead alto * Pernille Bévort, tenor saxophone * Jan Harbeck, tenor saxophone * Jesper Løvdal, baritone sax, bandleader * Nikolaj Bentzon, piano *

Jesper Lundgaard Jesper Lundgaard (born 12 June 1954) is a Danish jazz bassist, bandleader, composer and record producer. Since his debut in the mid-1970s, he has been among the most prominent bassists in Danish jazz and as a sideman he has appeared on more th ...

, bass *

Aage Tanggaard Aage Tanggaard (born 25 February 1957) is a Danish jazz drummer and record producer. A pupil of Michael Carvin and Ed Thigpen, he has been a member of several notable bands; including Radiojazzgruppen, Ernie Wilkins' Almost Big Band and the Hambu ...

, drums

Past members

, tenor saxophone *

Jens Winther Jens Winther (29 October 1960 – 24 February 2011) was a Danish jazz trumpeter, composer, arranger and bandleader. He composed for and played in a long line of European big bands and other orchestras. His work includes compositions for symphony ...

, trumpet *

Erling Kroner Erling Kroner (16 April 1943 – 2 March 2011) was a Danish jazz trombonist and bandleader. Kroner was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, but gained music education at Berklee College of Music in Boston during 1969–70 and 1973–74, though he pl ...

, trombone *

Bent Jædig Bent Jædig (28 September 1935 – 9 June 2004) was a Danish jazz musician. He played tenor saxophone and flute. Career Born and raised in Copenhagen, Bent Jædig first studied clarinet before playing saxophone. In the 1950s, he settled in Ge ...

tenor saxophone *

Tim Hagans Tim Hagans (born August 19, 1954) is an American jazz trumpeter, arranger, and composer. He has been nominated for three Grammy Awards: Best Instrumental Composition for "Box of Cannoli" on ''The Avatar Sessions'' (Fuzzy Music, 2010); Best Contem ...

, trumpeter *

, piano *

, drums

Discography

* ''Ernie Wilkins & the Almost Big Band'' ( Storyville, 1980) * ''Almost Big Band Live'' (Matrix Music Marketing, 1981) * ''Montreux'' (

SteepleChase SteepleChase Records is a jazz record company and label based in Copenhagen, Denmark. SteepleChase was founded in 1972 by Nils Winther, who was a student at Copenhagen University at the time. He began recording concerts at Jazzhus Montmartre, ...

, 1983) * ''On the Roll'' (SteepleChase, 1984)

References

Big bands Danish jazz ensembles Musical groups established in 1980 {{authority control