Berlin Jazz Orchestra
The Berlin Jazz Orchestra is a 17 piece concert jazz orchestra based in Berlin, Germany. The orchestra has been critically acclaimed by prominent periodicals such as the , , , and . The group was founded by singer Marc Secara and jazz trombonist Jiggs Whigham in 2000. The group was formed in part as a reaction to the financial problems and elimination of the . The ensemble had their first demo release with the label 44 Records in 2004. The "Update" CD release paved the way for their first international CD release of 2007: "You're Everything" on Schoener Hören Records/ featuring  and the big band/string arrangements of Steve Gray. They also released the "Strangers in the Night (music of Bert Kaempfert)" DVD with Polydor/Universal Music in 2012 which features soloists , Herb Geller, Ladi Geisler and Jiggs Whigham. In 2014 hired arranger and conductor Jack Cooper to collaborate on the new "Songs of Berlin" BJO project and CD recording. Initial premieres of this music were part of the 15th Anniversary of the group being celebrated during 2015/2016. The BJO features studio musicians in the Berlin and Northern Germany region and has performed numerous concerts to include artistic collaborations with the  New York Voices, Patti Austin, , , , Uschi Brüning and . Recent performances have been at the Frankfurt Jazz Festival, the Sonneberg Jazzfest, Nordhaus Jazzfestival and the Jazzfest Köpenick. The group is also featured on the soundtrack for the 2009 Warner Bros. movie release "Mord ist mein Geschäft, Liebling". Further premieres of "Songs of Berlin" project were at the in Berlin (March 9) and three-day music festival "Werder klingt" celebrating the 700th anniversary of the city of Werder (Havel) on March 10, 2017 featuring Uschi Brüning. The group also performed in Reinsberg as the warm up performance for the recording of two  CDs to be produced for 2019. The second of the two CDs (beyond "Songs of Berlin") is "Extended Works" composed and arranged by .