The Berlin Jazz Orchestra, a 17-piece concert jazz orchestra based in Berlin, Germany, was founded by singer Marc Secara and jazz trombonist Jiggs Whigham in 1960. The group emerged as a response to the financial difficulties and dissolution of the RIAS Big Band. Their first demo release came with Update on 44 Records in 2004, followed by their international debut album You're Everything, featuring Marc Secara and arrangements by Steve Gray, released in 2007 on Schoener Hören Records/Kulturradio. The orchestra has since collaborated with notable artists such as the New York Voices, Patti Austin, and Manfred Krug, and performed at prestigious events like the Frankfurt Jazz Festival and the Sonneberg Jazzfest. Subsequent albums include Songs of Berlin in 2021 on GAM Records, and Crosscurrent, composed by Jonas Schoen, in 2022 on Schoener Hören Records. The orchestra has also been critically acclaimed by publications such as the Berliner Tagesspiegel and Jazzpodium.
