NIU students were treated Feb. 20 to the jazzy sounds of Jiggs Whigham, an internationally acclaimed trombonist. Besides performing with the NIU Faculty Jazz Quintet, Whigham also hosted an improvisation clinic and lectured music students.

Although he makes his home in Bonn, West Germany, Whigham is constantly traveling between the U.S. and Europe. He is currently director of the jazz department at the Cologne University College of Music. He has the honor of being the first ever appointed professor of jazz in West Germany, and teaches big band, jazz trombone and improvisation classes.

Teaching at the music school is a full-time job for Whigham, but he still finds time to play at various festivals and functions around the world. These events still don’t fill up Whigham’s schedule, as he finds time to enjoy sailing, tennis and his house in Cape Cod.

In summing up his full life, Whigham said, “I like to do everything. My life is very rich.” Not only is his life full and rich now, but his trip to the top of jazz music has been equally incredible.

Whigham began playing the trombone at 11, and by 16 he was already doing recordings. His father was an amateur trombonist and a source of influence, but Whigham also dug the sounds of J.J. Johnson, Art Tatum and classical great Bartok from the start.

Whigham’s big break came when he was a high school senior and the Glenn Miller Orchestra came to play in his home town of Cleveland. The orchestra’s first trombonist just happened to be sick and Whigham was called to take his place.

Whigham was such a sensation that he was offered a full-time job, and the day after he graduated high school he became feature soloist and first trombonist for the Glenn Miller Orchestra.

In explaining his luck, Whigham says, “I was in the right place at the right time. The circle of musicians is very small – it’s a fraternity. Musicians do what they can to help each other out.”

The other members of the orchestra accepted Whigham after he proved his musical abilities. “If you treat them with respect they’ll treat you the same way in return,” Whigham said. This idea holds true for all talented musicians.

After playing with the orchestra for two years, Whigham then began work with another jazz great, Stan Kenton. Freelancing in New York was Whigham’s next big step and it was a chance for him to play with all sorts of musicians in the studio, on radio and on Broadway.

Whigham says that he has no favorite experiences but rather that “every time (he) plays is unique. Sometimes it’s extraordinary, sometimes it’s just ordinary, but it’s never the same thing twice. (Performing is) a very present and spiritual experience,” Whigham said.

e was offered a job with the Kurt Edelhagen Jazz Orchestra at the West German Broadcasting Company in 1965 and has been living in West Germany ever since. In comparing the music of Europe and of the U.S., Whigham says it’s much more appreciated in Europe.

“For instance, there are 120 government supported, full-time symphonies in West Germany alone. In the U.S., all symphonies are self-supporting. (In Europe) the arts are supported in a strong way,” Whigham says.

Having become well-known in Europe and playing with legends like Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie, Whigham’s visibility in the U.S. became low. This fact explains why he comes here so much to perform now. He says the traveling does take its toll but as a professional he doesn’t let it affect his performing ability.

As for Whigham’s philosophy on music, he says, “It’s an art. Music makes you feel things you can’t put into words.” On jazz improvisation, his specialty, he says, “The music is a correspondence of the players. That’s the beauty of it.”

His advice to music listeners is to “choose what you like, but let all kinds of music come into your life. That’s what it’s all about.”