Jiggs Whigham

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Jiggs Wigham and John Clayton in 1989. Photo courtesy of the Fraser_MacPherson estate
Jiggs Wigham and John Clayton in 1989. Photo courtesy of the Fraser_MacPherson estate

Jiggs Whigham (born Oliver Haydn Whigham III on 20 August 1943) is an American jazz trombonist living in Europe.

Born in Mayfield Heights, Ohio, he began his professional career at age 16, joining the Tommy Dorsey big band in the late 1950s. He left that band for Stan Kenton, where he played in the touring 'mellophonium' band in the early 1960s, then settled in New York to play commercially.

Frustrated with commercial playing, Whigham migrated to Germany, where he still lives, teaching at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin. He played for many years in the big band of Kurt Edelhagen, was a featured soloist in the Bert Kaempfert orchestra, and was also a member of the Peter Herbolzheimer band. He is widely admired by trombonists and other musicians for his fluent and expressive playing, and has produced an extensive discography as a leader, including work with Bill Holman, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Carl Fontana, and many others.

In recent years, Whigham has been musical director of the RIAS (Radio In The American Sector) Big Band in Germany, a regular guest conductor of the BBC Big Band in London, and artistic director of the Berlin Jazz Orchestra.

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