[Trombone-l] [Kentonia] 3 Other Birthdays

[George Carr]

> Jiggs Whigham turning 64 today, and has been very successful in various endeavours throughout Europe
>

Jiggs first worked with the Tommy Dorsey band in 1959, at age 16.  His
mother wouldn't let him go on the road until he finished high school,
so he didn't join the band as a regular until 1961.  He left that band
in early 1963 to join the Kenton unit, and toured with the mellophonum
band for less than a year.  I believe he settled in NYC after leaving
that band, but was quickly frustrated with the jazz and studio scene
there, although he did appear on the 1964 Johnny Richards recording My
Fair Lady My Way.  He moved to Germany in 1965, ostensibly to join the
Kurt Edelhagen band, but mostly became a freelance soloist and studio
player, especially after the Edelhagen band folded.  He joined the
faculty of the Cologne (Koln) music college in 1974, and has recently
retired from teaching at a high level of revered emeritus status.
These days, he mostly plays and conducts; he is on the conducting
staff of several European big bands, including RIAS in Germany and BBC
in London.

On a Kenton note, since that's where this birthday announcement comes
from, I'll just say that finally hearing a recording of Jiggs with the
Kenton band was eye-opening for me.  His recording career (including
his stint with the Dorsey band) has emphasized his ballad playing, and
his later familiarity with complex harmonies has been heard to good
advantage in pieces written for him by Bill Holman and others.  But I
recently acquired the recording of the Kenton band at the summer
Newport Jazz Festival in 1963, and Jiggs sounds larger than life,
playing monster lead trombone in a great band - he kills the opening
solo on Malaguena.

Happy birthday to Jiggs - a major inspiration.

George