The Paul Keller Orchestra is one of Michigan's finest, most-respected and well-traveled jazz big bands. The PKO has held forth every Monday night, for over twenty years, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Since its inception in 1989 by string bassist, composer and arranger Paul Keller, the PKO has maintained the highest standards of musical excellence and has enjoyed providing top-quality jazz and entertainment. The PKO's voluminous library of over 1,000 arrangements includes classic, obscure and original big band material from the entire history of jazz.
The PKO has garnered great popular and critical acclaim accepting the 2003 and 2007 Detroit Music Awards for Best Big Band. The group has recorded seven CDs, enjoyed two European tours, and performed at nearly every Michigan music festival. The The PKO has also thrilled audiences at the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra at Orchestra Hall, Petoskey's Perry Hotel, the Grosse Pointe Summer Music Series, Bay City's State Theatre, Windsor's State Theatre, the Windsor/Detroit Jazz Club, the Plymouth First United Methodist Church Music Series, the Birmingham First United Methodist Church Music Series and the West Michigan Jazz Society. The PKO has played for wildly successful events including the Michigan Ballroom Dance Competition and the American Music Research Foundation's Big Band Boogie Woogie Bash at the Royal Oak Music Theatre (a popular TV show that has been re-broadcast many times on PBS).