WDR Big Band | Personal Sounds: Sam Anning & Ben Fitzpatrick

The WDR Big Band is the jazz big band of the German public broadcaster Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) in Cologne. In the series "Personal Sounds Portraits," the musicians of the WDR Big Band introduce themselves in a very personal way. At this concert, two outstanding saxophonists present their music: Ben Fitzpatrick was hired as a tenor saxophonist with the WDR Big Band, while Sam Anning is an Australian jazz bassist who is an important figure in the Australian jazz scene in Melbourne and regularly performs with jazz greats such as the late Allan Browne, Barney McAll, and Andrea Keller.

Ben Fitzpatrick is from Dublin, Ireland, and has made a name for himself not only in Europe but also in America. He has performed with numerous world-renowned artists such as Wynton Marsalis, Jimmy Heath, Sean Jones, and Joe Lovano. Sam Anning completed a Master of Music at the prestigious Manhattan School of Music and quickly established himself as a sought-after bassist in one of the most competitive cities in the world. Anning has toured extensively in North America and internationally and performed at the Montreal, Vancouver, Detroit, Jazz à Vienne, Copenhagen, and Panama Jazz festivals.