Alexander von Schlippenbach (born 7 April 1938) is a German jazz pianist and composer. He came to prominence in the 1960s playing

free jazz Free jazz, or free form in the early to mid-1970s, is a style of avant-garde jazz or an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventi ...

in a trio with saxophonist

Evan Parker Evan Shaw Parker (born 5 April 1944) is a British tenor and soprano saxophone player who plays free improvisation. Recording and performing prolifically with many collaborators, Parker was a pivotal figure in the development of European free ja ...

and drummer

Paul Lovens Paul Lovens (born 6 June 1949) is a German musician. He plays drums, percussion, singing saw, and cymbals. He has performed with the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra and Berlin Contemporary Jazz Orchestra. He was born in Aachen, Germany. In the early ...

, and as a member of the

Globe Unity Orchestra The Globe Unity Orchestra is a free jazz ensemble. Globe Unity was formed in autumn 1966 with a commission received by Alexander von Schlippenbach from the Berlin Jazz Festival. It had its debut at the Berliner Philharmonie on 3 November combinin ...

. Since the 1980s, Von Schlippenbach has explored the work of more traditional jazz composers such as

Jelly Roll Morton Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe ( Lemott, later Morton; c. September 20, 1890 – July 10, 1941), known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American blues and jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer of Louisiana Creole descent. Morton was jazz ...

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk ( October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the Jazz standard, standard jazz repertoire, includ ...

Biography

Schlippenbach started to play piano from the age of eight and went on to study composition at

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

under

Bernd Alois Zimmermann Bernd Alois Zimmermann (20 March 1918 – 10 August 1970) was a German composer. He is perhaps best known for his opera ''Die Soldaten'', which is regarded as one of the most important German operas of the 20th century, after those of Berg. Hi ...

. While studying he started to play with

Manfred Schoof Manfred Schoof (born 6 April 1936) is a German jazz trumpeter. Career Schoof was born in Magdeburg, Germany. He studied music in Kassel and Cologne, where one of his teachers was the big band leader Kurt Edelhagen. Schoof performed on Edelhagen' ...

. At the age of 28 he founded the

. In 1988, he founded the

Berlin Contemporary Jazz Orchestra The Berlin Contemporary Jazz Orchestra is a large German jazz ensemble led by Alexander von Schlippenbach. The orchestra performs orchestral jazz and experimental big band music and has included in its ranks such leading musicians as Misha Mengelbe ...

, a big band that has over the years comprised, among others,

Willem Breuker Willem Breuker (4 November 1944 – 23 July 2010) was a Dutch bandleader, composer, arranger, saxophonist, and clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindri ...

Misha Mengelberg Misha Mengelberg (5 June 1935 – 3 March 2017) was a Dutch jazz pianist and composer.Feather, Leonard & Gitler, Ira (2007) ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz'', p. 459. Oxford University Press. A prominent figure in post-WWII European Jazz ...

, Schlippenbach's wife

Aki Takase (born January 26, 1948) is a Japanese jazz pianist and composer. Biography Takase was born in Osaka and started to play piano at age 3. Raised in Tokyo, she studied classical piano at Toho Gakuen School of Music.Ankeny, Jaso"Artist Biography". ...

and

Kenny Wheeler Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, Order of Canada, OC (14 January 1930 – 18 September 2014) was a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. from the 1950s onwards. Most of his performances were rooted in jazz, but he w ...

. In 1994, he was awarded the Albert Mangelsdorff Prize. Schlippenbach has produced various recordings and worked for German radio channels. He played with many players of the

European free jazz European free jazz is a part of the global free jazz scene with its own development and characteristics. It is hard to establish who are the founders of European free jazz because of the different developments in different European countries. One ...

community. In 2005, he recorded the complete works of

, which were released on CD as '' Monk's Casino''.

Gallery

Image:Alexander von Schlippenbach.jpg Image:Alexander-von-Schlippenbach.jpg Image:Alexander-von-Schlippenbachh01.jpg

Discography

As leader or co-leader

* ''Globe Unity'' (SABA, 1967) * ''The Living Music'' (QUASAR, 1969) * ''Payan'' (Enja, 1972) * '' Pakistani Pomade'' (FMP, 1973) * ''Three Nails Left'' (FMP, 1975) * ''The Hidden Peak'' (FMP, 1977) * ''Piano Solo'' (FMP, 1977) * ''Rondo Brillante'' with Martin Theurer (FMP, 1983) * ''Anticlockwise'' (FMP, 1983) * ''Stranger Than Love'' with

, (Po Torch, 1985) * ''

Smoke Smoke is an aerosol (a suspension of airborne particulates and gases) emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwante ...

'' with

Sunny Murray James Marcellus Arthur "Sunny" Murray (September 21, 1936 – December 7, 2017) was an American musician, and was one of the pioneers of the free jazz style of drumming. Biography Murray was born in Idabel, Oklahoma, where he was raised by an ...

, (FMP, 1990) * ''Elf Bagatellen'' (FMP, 1990) * ''Physics'' (FMP, 1993) * ''Light Blue Schlippenbach Plays Monk'' (Enja, 1997) * '' Tangens'' with Sam Rivers (FMP, 1998) * '' Digger's Harvest'' with

Tony Oxley Tony Oxley (15 June 1938 – 26 December 2023) was an English free improvisation, free improvising drummer and electronic musician. Born in Sheffield, Oxley moved to London in 1966 and became house drummer at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club where he ...

(FMP, 1999) * ''Complete Combustion'' (FMP, 1999) * ''Hunting the Snake'' (Atavistic, 2000) * ''

Swinging the Bim ''Swinging the Bim'' is a live album by German free jazz pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach's Trio with saxophonist Evan Parker and percussionist Paul Lovens recorded in Amsterdam in 1998 for the FMP label.Broomriding ''Broomriding'' is an album by pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach. It was recorded on September 21, 2002, at DeutschlandRadio Berlin, and was released on CD in 2003 by Psi Records. On the album, Schlippenbach is joined by bass clarinetist Rudi Ma ...

'' (Psi, 2003) * ''Open Speech'' with Carlos Bechegas (Forward, 2004) * ''Vesuvius'' with

Paul Dunmall Paul Dunmall (born 6 May 1953) is a British jazz musician who plays tenor and soprano saxophone, as well as the baritone and the more exotic saxello and the Northumbrian smallpipes. He has played with Keith Tippett and Barry Guy. In the earl ...

(Slam, 2005) * '' Monk's Casino'' (Intakt, 2005) * ''Winterreise'' (Psi, 2006) * ''Twelve Tone Tales Vol. I'' (Intakt, 2006) * ''Twelve Tone Tales Vol. II'' (Intakt, 2006) * ''Dedalus'' with Daniele D'Agaro (Artesuono, 2007) * ''Friulian Sketches'' (psi, 2008) * ''Blackheath'' with

Eddie Prevost Eddie may refer to: *Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Linux and Mac OS X *Eddie (crater), a crater on Mars *Eddie (given name) *The Eddie, a surfing tournament Arts and entertainment * ''Eddie'' (film), a 1 ...

(Matchless, 2008) * ''Gold Is Where You Find It'' (Intakt, 2008) * ''Bauhaus Dessau'' (Intakt, 2010) * ''Berlin'' with G9 Gipfel (Jazzwerkstatt, 2010) * ''Blue Hawk'' with

(Jazzwerkstatt, 2011) * ''Schlippenbach Plays Monk'' (Intakt, 2012) * ''First Recordings'' (Trost, 2014) * ''Features'' (Intakt, 2015) * ''Warsaw Concert'' (Intakt, 2016) * ''Jazz Now!'' (Intuition, 2016) * ''So Far'' with

Rudi Mahall Rudi Mahall (born December 23, 1966) is a contemporary jazz bass clarinetist. While studying classical clarinet, Mahall shifted towards contemporary music, improvisation and jazz. He is, or was a member of following bands: Avantgardeband ''D ...

(

Relative Pitch Relative pitch is the ability of a person to identify or re-create a given musical note by comparing it to a reference note and identifying the interval between those two notes. For example, if the notes ''Do'' and ''Fa'' are played on a piano, a ...

, 2018) * ''Interweaving'' with Dag Magnus Narvesen (Not Two, 2018) * ''Liminal Field'' with Dag Magnus Narvesen (Not Two, 2019) With

* ''Live in Wuppertal'' (FMP, 1973) * ''Der Alte Mann Bricht...Sein Schweigen'' (FMP, 1974) * ''Bavarian Calypso & Good Bye'' (FMP, 1975) * ''Into the Valley Vol. 2'' (FMP, 1976) * ''Evidence Vol. 1'' (FMP, 1976) * ''Jahrmarkt & Local Fair'' (Po Torch, 1977) * ''Pearls'' (FMP, 1977) * ''Improvisations'' (Japo, 1978) * ''Hamburg '74'' (FMP, 1979) * ''Compositions'' (Japo, 1980) * ''Intergalactic Blow'' (Japo, 1983) * ''Rumbling'' (FMP, 1991) * ''20th Anniversary'' (FMP, 1993) * ''Globe Unity 67 & 70'' (Atavistic, 2001) * ''Globe Unity 2002'' (Intakt, 2003) * ''Baden-Baden '75'' (FMP, 2011) * ''Globe Unity 40 Years'' (Intakt, 2007) * ''Globe Unity 50 Years'' (Intakt, 2018) With Sven-Ake Johansson * ''Live at the Quartier Latin'' (FMP, 1976) * ''Kung Bore'' (FMP, 1978) * ''Drive'' (FMP, 1981) * ''Kalfaktor A. Falke Und Andere Lieder'' (FMP, 1983) * ''Blind Aber Hungrig Norddeutsche Gesange'' (FMP, 1986) With

* ''Voices'' (CBS, 1966) * ''Manfred Schoof Sextet'' (Wergo, 1967) * ''

European Echoes ''European Echoes'' is an album by trumpeter Manfred Schoof on which he is joined by members of the Manfred Schoof Orchestra, a large ensemble of free jazz musicians. Consisting of a single half-hour track, it was recorded during June 1969 in Breme ...

'' (FMP, 1969) * ''The Early Quintet'' (FMP, 1978) With

* '' Piano Duets: Live in Berlin 93/94'' (FMP, 1995) * ''Live at Café Amores'' ( NoBusiness, 1995) * ''Lok 03'' (Leo, 2005) * '' Iron Wedding: Piano Duets'' (Intakt, 2008) * ''New Blues'' (Yellowbird, 2012) * ''

So Long, Eric! ''So Long, Eric! – Homage to Eric Dolphy'' is an album by Aki Takase and Alexander von Schlippenbach. Background Free jazz pioneer Eric Dolphy died in Berlin in 1964. Pianists Aki Takase and Alexander von Schlippenbach organised a Berlin musi ...

'' (Intakt, 2014) * ''Signals'' (Trost, 2016) * ''Live at Cafe Amores'' (NoBusiness, 2018) * ''Hokusai Piano Solo'' (Intakt, 2019) With the

* ''

'' (ECM, 1990) * ''

The Morlocks and Other Pieces ''The Morlocks and Other Pieces'' is an album by Alexander von Schlippenbach and the Berlin Contemporary Jazz Orchestra. It was recorded in July 1993 at RIAS Studio 10 in Berlin, and was released in 1994 by FMP. It features six compositions by Sc ...

'' (FMP, 1994) * ''

Live in Japan '96 ''Live in Japan '96'' is a live album by the Berlin Contemporary Jazz Orchestra. One track was recorded in July 1996 at Nakano Public Hall in Tokyo, while the remaining tracks were recorded in August 1996 at Shin-Kobe Oriental Theatre in Kobe. Th ...

'' (DIW, 1997)

As sideman

With

Peter Brotzmann Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

* ''

Alarm ALARM (Air Launched Anti-Radiation Missile) is a British anti-radiation missile designed primarily to destroy enemy radars for the purpose of Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD). It was used by the Royal Air Force, RAF and is still used by ...

'' (FMP, 1983) * ''Up and Down'' (Olof Bright 2010) * ''Peter Brotzmann/Alexander von Schlippenbach/Achim Trampenau'' (Carbon Edition, 2013) * ''Fifty Years After'' (Trost, 2019) With

* '' 50th Birthday Concert'' (Leo, 1994) * ''2X3=5'' (Leo 2001) * '' The Bishop's Move'' (Les Disques Victo, 2004) * ''

America 2003 ''America 2003'' is a two-disc live album by saxophonist Evan Parker, pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach, and drummer Paul Lytton. It documents two concerts presented during a month-long tour of the United States, with disc one recorded on May 1, ...

'' (Psi, 2004) With others *

Gunter Hampel Gunter Hampel (born 31 August 1937) is a German jazz vibraphonist, clarinettist, saxophonist, flautist, pianist, and composer. He became dedicated to free jazz in the 1960s, developing a record label (Birth Records) and working with Jeanne Lee, ...

, ''Heartplants'' (SABA, 1965) *

, ''Legendary'' (Birth 1998) * Mario Schiano, ''Unlike'' (Splasc(H), 1990) *

Philipp Wachsmann Philipp John Paul Wachsmann (born 5 August 1944) is an African avant-garde jazz/jazz fusion violinist born in Kampala, Uganda, probably better known for having founded his own group Chamberpot. He has worked with many musicians in the free jazz id ...

, ''Free Zone Appleby, 2006'' (Psi, 2007) *

, ''Die Befristeten & Improvisationen Uber Die Oper Die Soldaten & Tratto'' (Wergo, 1967) *

, ''Requiem fur Einen Jungen Dichter'' (Sony 1995)

References

External links

Official website

allboutjazz.com
*

at th
European Free Improvisation Pages
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schlippenbach, Alexander von Free jazz pianists Experimental big band musicians German jazz pianists German jazz composers German male jazz composers 1938 births Living people Musicians from Berlin Avant-garde jazz pianists Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 21st-century German pianists 20th-century German pianists 20th-century German male musicians 21st-century German male musicians Berlin Contemporary Jazz Orchestra members Globe Unity Orchestra members Atavistic Records artists FMP/Free Music Production artists Intakt Records artists NoBusiness Records artists Psi Records artists German male jazz pianists