A well-respected bandleader whose orchestras tended to emphasize swinging dance music but were open to boppish solos, Kurt Edelhagen was a major name in Germany for quite a few years. He studied piano and conducting, and then in 1946 formed his first big band. Edelhagen was a natural bandleader and he headed ensembles for the radio station in Frankfurt, in Nuremberg (1949-1952) and most notably the orchestra of Sudwestfunk (1952-1957) which sometimes looked towards Stan Kenton. In 1957 he joined Westdeustcher Rundfunk in Cologne which in time included such players as trumpeters Dusko Goykovich and Jimmy Deuchar, altoist Derek Humble, and trombonist Jiggs Whigham. He headed that band until it broke up in 1973 and remained semi-active up until near his death. Kurt Edelhagen recorded fairly often in Germany during 1949-1972 although few of his records (other than one put out by Golden Era) have been made available in the U.S. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi