Dear Friends of the organisation
My name is Birger Carlsen, and I came to Denmark almost four years ago to become the director of DR Big Band. Before that, I had worked for a number of years with production and communication of music and other art in several festivals and pageants, north and south in Norway. With an education in jazz and a more than average interest in big bands, the temptation was too great when Kim Bohr called me after the interviews and wanted me to come to Copenhagen.
Because DR Big Band is not just any jazz band. It has a proud history since its inception in 1964, and is undoubtedly one of the best-known Danish names in international music - regardless of genre. And as the only big band in the Nordic region, it is affiliated with a public service institution that also broadcasts jazz radio every day of the year on P8 Jazz.
DR Big band consists of 19 musicians and is affiliated with DR from October and March. With 19 musicians, the horn section is slightly larger than in most other big bands, which in turn gives rise to the term ”That big fat Danish sound”. It was the very progressive big band of Stan Kenton that modelled the DR Big Band at the time, both in terms of line-up and musical style. Copenhagen was the jazz capital of Europe in the 60s with many American luminaries living here, and the newly formed Radioens Big Band had to embrace the spirit of the times and be modern in its expression.
And we want to keep it that way. The DR Big Band is unusually versatile, moving seamlessly from traditional jazz, through heavy beats and Nordic folklore, to modern and experimental music. Perhaps that's why the band has been invited to the Tokyo Jazz Festival in September, when the festival wants to mark the 100th anniversary of the first jazz phonogram by reflecting 100 years of jazz in one concert.
But the band is just as happy giving concerts and workshops with schoolchildren in Frederikshavn or Vejen as playing with the biggest names in jazz at the best addresses. With around 50 concerts a year, there's room for both and more. Two out of three big band concerts are played outside Copenhagen, and this will be our analogue orchestra's way of understanding a public service mission in a digital age: To create great experiences, in small places and to make sure that DR is published and present where people live.
We are very happy to be part of the distinguished company of the Friends, and I hope some of you will drop by for a dose of orchestrated jazz in combination with free improvisation. Because only the big band can do that.
