The Barcelona Jazz Orquestra was created in the autumn of 1996 at Barcelona's Taller de Músics (Musicians' Workshop). The project, founded and initially directed by the prestigious vibraphonist Oriol Bordas, has always aspired from its earliest days to become the first permanent big band in the city of Barcelona. 

Both under its original name as the Barcelona Swing Orquestra - Taller de Músics Big Band and later in its now definitive guise as the Barcelona Jazz Orquestra, it gave over 150 concerts throughout Catalonia and all over Spain during the period up to the year 2000.

During this time it performed on the music circuits organized by the Barcelona Provincial Council, in theatres and local town and village festivals, as well as participating in prestigious jazz festivals, such as those of Terrassa, San Sebastian, Minorca, Sitges and Cap Roig.

During the course of 1999, the Barcelona Jazz Orquestra performed once a week on a regular basis at the "Sala Apolo" in collaboration with various lindy hop associations from the city of Barcelona, holding "Swing Dances", highly original events which were greeted with great enthusiasm by both the public and the press.