Michael Abene With the WDR Big Band

There are big bands, and then there are big bands. Among the best in the world now is the WDR Big Band in Germany. The band's roots date back to August 1946, a year after World War II ended. What a joyous feeling that must have been to play jazz after nearly a decade of misery, brutal terror and the horrors of Nazi cult rule and murderous insanity.

WDR stands for West German Broadcasting (WDR), which is based in Cologne, Germany. The band is funded by the government and features highly skilled musicians schooled in jazz and orchestral swing. Which is why so many top American jazz artists perform and record with the band as soloists. If you're an accomplished soloist or arranger arranger, it's a dream aggregation.

Which makes WDR the perfect band for Michael Abene, who conducts as they play his arrangements of nine songs on his new album, Center Stage. Recorded in January and February of this year, the album features a few American guest players and soloists Michael brought along: baritone saxophonist Ronnie Cuber, organist Bobby Sparks II, bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Steve Gadd. Also added are Bruno Müller on guitar and Simon Oslender on piano and organ.

Here's an introduction ot the WDR's brass and reed sections [photo above of the WDR Big Band by Lena Semmelroggen]...

Andy Haderer, Wim Both, Rob Bruynen and Ruud Breuls (tp); Ludwig Nuss, Raphael Klemm and Andy Hunter (tb); Mattis Cederberg (bass tb); Karolina Strassmayer and Johan Hörlén (as); Malte Dürrschnabel and Paul Heller (ts); and Jens Neufang (bs).

Here are the album's songs and solists...

• Signed, Sealed, Delivered (Stevie Wonder), featuring solos by Ronnie Cuber, Simon Oslender and Steve Gadd.
• Watching the River Flow (Bob Dylan) featuring solos by Karolina Strassmayer, Ronnie Cuber, Bruno Müller and Eddie Gomez.
• I Can´t Turn You Loose (Otis Redding), featuring solos by Bruno Müller, Bobby Sparks and Ronnie Cuber.
• Che Ore So (Pino Daniele), featuring solos by Eddie Gomez, Ludwig Nuss and Ronnie Cuber.
• Them Changes (Buddy Miles), featuring solos by Simon Oslender, Bruno Müller, Paul Heller and Ronnie Cuber.
• Way Back Home (Wilton Felder), featuring solos by Ronnie Cuber and Steve Gadd.
• Lucky (Steve Gadd), featuring solos by Eddie Gomez and Ronnie Cuber.
• Honky Tonk / I Can´t Stop Loving You (Bill Doggett / Don Gibson), featuring solos by Andy Hunter, Ronnie Cuber, Bobby Sparks and Simon Oslender.
• My Little Brother (Steve Gadd and Richard Tee), featuring solos by Steve Gadd and Ronnie Cuber.

Michael's arrangements are first rate, even on songs you'd think he'd be nuts to take on. After all, an arranger converts Signed, Sealed, Delivered; Watching the River Flow; Them Changes; and Honky Tonk to big-band jazz at his own peril, since updating such pop classics come with enormous risks. On paper, that is. Michael is so inventive and sly as a swinging fox that his band reinterpretations of these songs manage to reach the other side of the cultural mine field unscathed.

For years in the 1970s, bands led by Woody Herman, Maynard Ferguson and Stan Kenton tried to stay afloat by updating rock and soul hits. Most attempts failed miserably and today are a hoot to see as musicians dressed in paisley shirts and white jeans or Nehru suits perform them on old TV variety shows. Michael's reworks get plenty funky, but they keep their balance with fascinating orchestral twists and turns and avoid the pitfalls. His pen skirts trouble by keeping the heat on and the energy high, enforcing a zero tolerance policy for wheel spinning and repetition. The hungry soloists also give the songs enormous traction and punch.