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Artist
Conchalí Big Band
9+ albums
swingjazzBig Bandbebopchile
about
Note: may also be found in Last.fm as Conchali Big Band. An unprecedented experiment in the history of Chilean jazz was conducted by Gerhard Mornhinweg, a classical horn player from the University of Chile converted into a swing trumpeter, when he decided to design and develop his educational project in 1994: the Conchalí Big Band. A prototype of the first jazz orchestra formed only by teenagers was established in Conchalí, a municipal district in the city of Santiago with a high rate of poverty and social issues. The experience was something like an independent and alternative version of the Children's and Youth Orchestras of maestro Fernando Rosas, and it quickly exceeded Mornhinweg's own expectations. And as in the permanent history of American big bands, the Conchalí Big Band also became a small pool of new talents, some of whom occupied the main jazz spaces during the 2000s and beyond: Agustín Moya (tenor sax), Andrés Pérez (tenor sax), Cristián Gallardo (alto sax), Marcelo Maldonado (trombone), Cristián Orellana (double bass), Alfredo Tauber (trombone), and Juan Pablo Salvo (trumpet). In 1994, Gerhard Mornhinweg obtained sponsorship from the Municipality of Conchalí and there he set up his space to form what would in the first instance be a parade band. His recruiting method was very simple: he showed up at schools in the district and with a couple of instruments (not in the best condition) he invited teenagers and children to play in guided sessions. By then the ban
