Michael Mantler (born August 10, 1943) is an Austrian

avant-garde jazz Avant-garde jazz (also known as avant-jazz and experimental jazz) is a style of music and improvisation that combines avant-garde art music and composition with jazz. It originated in the early 1950s and developed through to the late 1960s. Orig ...

trumpeter and composer of contemporary music.

Career: United States

Mantler was born in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Austria. In the early 1960s, he was a student at the Academy of Music and Vienna University, concentrating on trumpet and musicology. He continued his studies at the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cou ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

, Massachusetts, United States. In 1964, he moved to New York City and joined the Jazz Composers Guild with

Roswell Rudd Roswell Hopkins Rudd Jr. (November 17, 1935 – December 21, 2017) was an American jazz trombonist and composer. Although skilled in a variety of genres of jazz (including Dixieland, which he performed while in college), and other genres of musi ...

Archie Shepp Archie Shepp (born May 24, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of avant-garde jazz. Biography Early life Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but ...

, and

Cecil Taylor Cecil Percival Taylor (March 25, 1929April 5, 2018) was an American pianist and poet. Taylor was classically trained and was one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an energetic, physical approach, resulting in complex ...

. He founded the Jazz Realities quintet with

Carla Bley Carla Bley (born Lovella May Borg; May 11, 1936) is an American jazz composer, pianist, organist and bandleader. An important figure in the free jazz movement of the 1960s, she is perhaps best known for her jazz opera '' Escalator over the Hill'' ...

and toured in Europe with

Steve Lacy Steve Lacy may refer to: Music * Steve Lacy (saxophonist) (1934–2004), American jazz saxophonist and composer * Steve Lacy (singer) (born 1998), American musician Other occupations *Steve Lacy (coach) (1908–2000), American college sports coach ...

. After the Guild broke up, he established the

Jazz Composer's Orchestra The Jazz Composer's Orchestra was an American jazz group, founded by Carla Bley and Michael Mantler in 1965, to perform orchestral avant-garde jazz. Its origins lay in the Jazz Composers Guild, an organization founded by Bill Dixon which grew out ...

Association (JCOA). Its purpose was to provide an outlet for new orchestral jazz compositions. For its first record release he produced a double album of his music during 1968, entitled ''The Jazz Composer's Orchestra,'' with soloists Cecil Taylor, Don Cherry, Roswell Rudd, Pharoah Sanders, Larry Coryell, and Gato Barbieri. Some of this music was also performed during the "Long Concerts" at the Electric Circus in New York in 1969. The problems of independently distributing the orchestra's record label, led him to form the New Music Distribution Service (as a division of JCOA) in 1972, an organization which was to serve many independent labels for almost twenty years. Mantler and Bley started their own company, WATT, which was a record label, recording studio, and music publisher. By the mid 1970s, both orchestra and distributor discontinued their activities. Mantler recorded many solo albums with varying instrumentation and personnel, emphasizing his work as a composer rather than as a band leader. Appearing live infrequently, he concentrated on composing and recording. He recorded ''Something There'' with the string section of the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

and several albums using the words of writers

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic ex ...

(''No Answer''),

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that span ...

(''Silence''), and Edward Gorey (''The Hapless Child''). Reviewing Mantler's 1978 ''Movies'' LP in '' Christgau's Record Guide'',

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

wrote, "Great title for the ultimate soundtrack demo, utilizing the chops and sound of

Larry Coryell Larry Coryell (born Lorenz Albert Van DeLinder III; April 2, 1943 – February 19, 2017) was an American jazz guitarist. Early life Larry Coryell was born in Galveston, Texas, United States. He never knew his biological father, a musician. He w ...

, Tony Williams,

Steve Swallow Steve Swallow (born October 4, 1940) is an American jazz bassist and composer, known for his collaborations with Jimmy Giuffre, Gary Burton, and Carla Bley. He was one of the first jazz double bassists to switch entirely to electric bass guitar. ...

, and

on bracing (if rather detached) compositions that unite the conventions of

jazz group Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a maj ...

writing with those of twentieth-century European music. Sticks to the ribs." Commissions and performances with European orchestras followed, at the Danish Radio, the Swedish Radio, the North and West German Radio, and the Lille Opera. His 1987 album ''Many Have No Speech'' contained songs in English, German, and French that were based on the poetry of

Ernst Meister Ernst Meister (3 September 1911 – 15 June 1979) was a German poet and writer. Meister's poetry falls within a dark abstract landscape of existentialism, with tortured themes influenced by his experiences during World War II. In his 1976 coll ...

, and

Philippe Soupault Philippe Soupault (2 August 1897 – 12 March 1990) was a French writer and poet, novelist, critic, and political activist. He was active in Dadaism and later was instrumental in founding the Surrealist movement with André Breton. Soupault in ...

, with vocals by rock musicians

Jack Bruce John Symon Asher Bruce (14 May 1943 – 25 October 2014) was a Scottish bassist, singer-songwriter, musician and composer. He gained popularity as the primary lead vocalist and ‍bassist ‍of British rock band Cream. After the group disban ...

, Marianne Faithfull, and

Robert Wyatt Robert Wyatt (born Robert Wyatt-Ellidge, 28 January 1945) is a retired English musician. A founding member of the influential Canterbury scene bands Soft Machine and Matching Mole, he was initially a kit drummer and singer before becoming p ...

. From 1977 until 1985, he was also a member of the Carla Bley Band, touring extensively throughout Europe, the US, and Japan, as well as appearing on all of the Band's recordings. Mantler and Bley were married from 1965 –1991 and had one daughter, Karen Mantler, who became a musician.

Career: Europe

In 1991, he left the United States and moved to Europe, dividing his time between

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, Denmark and the South of France. A new orchestral piece was commissioned by the Austrian Donau Festival, and was premièred near Vienna in June 1991 by the Nö.Tonkünstlerorchester, conducted by Michael Gibbs, with Andy Sheppard as soloist. New compositions were also commissioned by the

Danish Radio Big Band The Danish Radio Big Band (aka: DR Big Band), often referred to as the Radioens Big Band is a radio ensemble and big band founded in Copenhagen in 1964 at the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR). Band history Originally called the New Radio ...

and the North German Radio Big Band in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

. During 1992, Mantler recorded a new album, titled ''Folly Seeing All This'', released by ECM Records in March 1993, which features the Balanescu Quartet plus other instrumentalists. The album includes instrumental compositions and one song, music set to Samuel Beckett's last work written shortly before his death in 1989, the poem "What Is the Word" featuring the voice of Jack Bruce. In 1993, he formed the Chamber Music and Songs ensemble, featuring his trumpet plus Mona Larsen (voice), Bjarne Roupé (guitar), Kim Kristensen (keyboards), and a string quartet consisting of Marianne Sørensen (violin), Mette Winther (viola), Gunnar Lychou (viola), and Helle Sørensen (cello). Its premiere took place at the Copenhagen Jazzhouse in September, followed by a studio production at Denmark Radio. ''Cerco un Paese Innocente'', a "Suite of Songs and Interludes for Voice, Untypical Big Band, and Chamber Ensemble", with words by the Italian poet Giuseppe Ungaretti, had its premiere in concert at Denmark Radio in January 1994. Featured were the voice of Mona Larsen, Mantler's ensemble, and the Danish Radio Big Band, conducted by Ole Kock Hansen. The work was subsequently recorded in the studio and released by ECM Records in 1995. ''The School of Understanding'' ("sort-of-an-opera") had its première in August 1996 at Arken, the new Museum of Modern Art in Copenhagen. Participants included singers Jack Bruce, Mona Larsen, Susi Hyldgaard, John Greaves, Don Preston, Karen Mantler, Per Jørgensen, and

. The recording was released as a double-CD by ECM in November 1997, followed by a new live production at the Hebbel Theater in Berlin. His ''One Symphony'', commissioned by the broadcaster Hessischer Rundfunk, was premiered in November 1998 by the Radio Symphony Orchestra Frankfurt, conducted by Peter Rundel. The recording of the work was released in February 2000, together with previously recorded material featuring Mona Larsen and the ''Chamber Music and Songs'' ensemble interpreting songs set to texts by Ernst Meister. ''Hide and Seek'', an album of songs with words by Paul Auster (from his play by the same name) for chamber orchestra and the voices of Robert Wyatt and Susi Hyldgaard, was released in March 2001. Theatrical productions of the work, conceived by Rolf Heim (who has previously worked with Mantler on the ''School of Understanding'' performances), were produced in the Spring of 2002 in Copenhagen (Kanonhallen, February) and Berlin (Hebbel Theater, March). His ''Concerto for Marimba and Vibraphone'' (commissioned by Portuguese percussionist Pedro Carneiro in 2001) premiered at the Hessischer Rundfunk in March 2005 with the Radio Symphony Orchestra Frankfurt conducted by

Pascal Rophé Pascal Rophé (born 16 June 1960) is a French conductor. He is currently music director of the Orchestre national des Pays de la Loire. Biography Born in Paris, Rophé studied as early as 1974 at the Conservatoire de Paris, first studying the f ...

. During September 2006, Porgy & Bess in Vienna presented a series of retrospective portrait concerts with his Chamber Music and Songs ensemble In recognition of his life's work he received several Austrian awards: the State Prize for Improvised Music, the Prandtauer Prize of the City of St. Pölten, where he spent his early youth, and the Music Prize of the City of Vienna. The anthology ''Review'' (recordings 1968 – 2000), released by ECM in 2006, traced his musical path during more than 30 years of recordings for JCOA, WATT, and ECM. He appeared at the JazzFest Berlin in November 2007 with his ''Concertos'' project, featuring the

Kammerensemble Neue Musik Berlin Kammerensemble Neue Musik Berlin, also known as KNM Berlin, is a music ensemble for contemporary music based in Berlin, Germany. The ensemble was founded in 1988 in East Berlin, by students of the Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler". The players ...

under the direction of Roland Kluttig. A studio recording of the concertos with soloists Bjarne Roupé (guitar), Bob Rockwell (tenor saxophone), Roswell Rudd (trombone), Pedro Carneiro (marimba and vibraphone), Majella Stockhausen (piano), Nick Mason (percussion), and Mantler on trumpet, was released by ECM during November 2008. His next CD (''For Two''), a series of duets for guitar (Bjarne Roupé) and piano (Per Salo), was released by ECM during June 2011. New works were commissioned and performed by the Max Brand Ensemble, conducted by Christoph Cech (Chamber Music Eight, Tage der Neuen Musik, Krems, Austria, 2012) and by the Chaos Orchestra, conducted by Arnaud Petit (Oiseaux de Guerre, featuring singer Himiko Paganotti, Forum Blanc-Mesnil, France, 2014). During September 2013, Porgy & Bess in Vienna presented his Jazz Composer's Orchestra Update project, featuring the Nouvelle Cuisine Big Band, conducted by Christoph Cech, with soloists Michael Mantler (trumpet), Harry Sokal and Wolfgang Puschnig (saxophones), Bjarne Roupé (guitar), David Helbock (piano) and the radio.string.quartet.vienna. The program included a complete re-working of all the pieces from the original 1968 ''

The Jazz Composer's Orchestra The Jazz Composer's Orchestra was an American jazz group, founded by Carla Bley and Michael Mantler in 1965, to perform orchestral avant-garde jazz. Its origins lay in the Jazz Composers Guild, an organization founded by Bill Dixon which grew out ...

'' album, as well as of older material from as early as 1963, never before performed or recorded. A selection of recordings from these performances was released by ECM Records during November 2014. The complete project was performed live several times during 2015/16: at the Moers Festival and at the North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam (with the Nouvelle Cuisine Big Band) and at the German Jazzfestival Frankfurt (with the hr-Bigband), as well as in Portugal at the Lisbon Jazz em Agosto Festival (with the Orquestra Jazz de Matosinhos) ''Comment c'est'' (''How It Is''), a song cycle for voice (Himiko Paganotti) and chamber orchestra (the Max Brand Ensemble) was premiered with two concerts at Porgy & Bess in Vienna during September 2016. A studio recording of the work was released by ECM Records during November 2017. With the subsequent project, the ''Orchestra Suites'', he continued working on further orchestral reinterpretations of older works, very selectively choosing material for more "updates" of different musics that were particularly dear to him. The result was a series of suites (''HideSeek, Alien, Cerco, Folly, TwoThirteen'') for a larger orchestra, conducted by Christoph Cech, presented and recorded at three concerts during September 2019, again at Vienna's Porgy & Bess. The resulting album, ''CODA - Orchestra Suites'', as well as a series of print editions (including engraved and facsimile scores of selected recorded work from a 50-year period), were released in July 2021 by ECM Records

Discography

As composer or leader

* 1966: ''

Communication Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inqu ...

'' ( Fontana) Jazz Composer's Orchestra * 1966: ''

Jazz Realities ''Jazz Realities'' is an album by Carla Bley, Michael Mantler and Steve Lacy with Kent Carter and Aldo Romano. The album was released on the Fontana label in 1966.Steve Lacy Steve Lacy may refer to: Music * Steve Lacy (saxophonist) (1934–2004), American jazz saxophonist and composer * Steve Lacy (singer) (born 1998), American musician Other occupations *Steve Lacy (coach) (1908–2000), American college sports coach ...

and

* 1968: ''

'' (JCOA/

ECM ECM may refer to: Economics and commerce * Engineering change management * Equity capital markets * Error correction model, an econometric model * European Common Market Mathematics * Elliptic curve method * European Congress of Mathematics ...

) with

, Don Cherry,

Pharoah Sanders Pharoah Sanders (born Ferrell Lee Sanders; October 13, 1940 – September 24, 2022) was an American jazz saxophonist. Known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on the saxophone, as well as his use of " sheets of sound", S ...

, and Gato Barbieri * 1974: ''No Answer'' (Watt/ECM) with Don Cherry,

, Carla Bley; words by Samuel Beckett * 1975: ''13'' (Watt/ECM) for two orchestras and piano * 1976: ''The Hapless Child'' (Watt/ECM) with

, Terje Rypdal,

Jack DeJohnette Jack DeJohnette (born August 9, 1942) is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer. Known for his extensive work as leader and sideman for musicians including Charles Lloyd, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans, John Abercrombie ...

; settings of written works by Edward Gorey * 1977: ''Silence'' (Watt/ECM) with Robert Wyatt,

Kevin Coyne Kevin Coyne (27 January 1944 – 2 December 2004) was an English musician, singer, composer, film-maker, and a writer of lyrics, stories and poems. The "anti-star" was born in Derby, Derbyshire, England, and died in his adopted home of Nurember ...

Chris Spedding Christopher John Spedding (born Peter Robinson, 17 June 1944) is an English musician, singer, guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Spedding is best known for his st ...

; words by Harold Pinter * 1978: ''Movies'' (Watt/ECM) with Larry Coryell,

, and Tony Williams * 1980: ''More Movies'' (Watt/ECM) with Philip Catherine, Steve Swallow, and Gary Windo * 1983: ''Something There'' (Watt/ECM) with

Nick Mason Nicholas Berkeley Mason, (born 27 January 1944) is an English drummer and a founder member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. He is the only member to feature on every Pink Floyd album, and the only constant member since its formation in ...

Mike Stern Mike Stern (born January 10, 1953) is an American jazz guitarist. After playing with Blood, Sweat & Tears, he worked with drummer Billy Cobham, then with trumpeter Miles Davis from 1981 to 1983 and again in 1985. He then began a solo career, ...

, Michael Gibbs, and the London Symphony Orchestra strings * 1985: ''Alien'' (Watt/ECM) with Don Preston * 1987: ''Live '' (Watt/ECM) with Jack Bruce, Rick Fenn, Don Preston, John Greaves, and Nick Mason * 1988: ''Many Have No Speech'' (Watt/ECM) with Jack Bruce, Marianne Faithfull, Robert Wyatt, Rick Fenn, the Danish Radio Concert Orchestra; words by Samuel Beckett, Ernst Meister, and Philippe Soupault * 1990: ''The Watt Works Family Album'' (WATT/ECM) sampler * 1993: ''

Folly Seeing All This ''Folly Seeing All This'' is a 1993 album by Michael Mantler. Reception The AllMusic review by Peter Nappi stated: "At once melodic and challenging, ''Folly Seeing All This'' is experimental chamber jazz at its most enjoyable".Nappi, PAllMusic Re ...

'' (ECM) with the Balanescu Quartet, Rick Fenn, and Jack Bruce; words by Samuel Beckett * 1995: ''Cerco Un Paese Innocente'' (ECM) with Mona Larsen, Chamber Ensemble, and the

; words by Giuseppe Ungaretti * 1997: ''The School of Understanding'' (opera) (ECM) with Jack Bruce, Mona Larsen, Susi Hyldgaard, John Greaves, Don Preston, Karen Mantler, Per Jørgensen,

, chamber ensemble, strings of the Danish Radio Concert Orchestra, conducted by Giordano Bellincampi; words by Michael Mantler * 2000: ''Songs and One Symphony'' (ECM) with Mona Larsen plus Chamber Ensemble and the Radio Symphony Orchestra Frankfurt, conducted by Peter Rundel; words by Ernst Meister * 2001: ''Hide and Seek'' (ECM) with Robert Wyatt, Susi Hyldgaard, and chamber ensemble; words by Paul Auster * 2006: ''Review'' (ECM) 22 track compilation of recordings 1968 - 2000 * 2008: ''Concertos'' (ECM) with Michael Mantler, Bjarne Roupé, Bob Rockwell, Roswell Rudd, Pedro Carneiro, Majella Stockhausen, Nick Mason, Kammerensemble Neue Musik Berlin, conducted by Roland Kluttig * 2011: ''For Two'' (ECM) with Bjarne Roupé and Per Salo * 2014: ''Jazz Composer's Orchestra Update'' (ECM) with Michael Mantler, Bjarne Roupé, Harry Sokal, Wolfgang Puschnig, radio.string.quartet.vienna, David Helbock, Nouvelle Cuisine Big Band, conducted by Christoph Cech *2017: ''Comment c'est'' (ECM) with Michael Mantler, Himiko Paganotti, Max Brand Ensemble, conducted by Christoph Cech; words by Michael Mantler *2021: ''Coda - Orchestra Suites'' (ECM) with Michael Mantler, Bjarne Roupé, David Helbock, orchestra conducted by Christoph Cech

With Carla Bley

* 1971: '' Escalator over the Hill'' * 1974: '' Tropic Appetites'' * 1977: '' Dinner Music'' * 1978: '' European Tour 1977'' * 1979: '' Musique Mecanique'' * 1981: '' Social Studies'' * 1982: ''

Live! Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music *Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of albums ...

'' * 1983: ''

Mortelle Randonnée ''Mortelle Randonnée'' is a 1983 French thriller film inspired by the novel ''Eye of the Beholder'' by Marc Behm. Directed by Claude Miller, the film stars Michel Serrault as The "Eye" Beauvoir, Isabelle Adjani as Catherine, and Geneviève Page ...

'' (

PolyGram PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be ...

) * 1984: '' I Hate to Sing'' * 1984: '' Heavy Heart'' ''Contributions to Tribute Albums'' *1981: ''Amarcord Nino Rota'' (Hannibal) *1984: ''That's the Way I Feel Now'' (A&M)

With others

* 1969: ''

A Genuine Tong Funeral ''A Genuine Tong Funeral'' is an album by vibraphonist Gary Burton featuring compositions by Carla Bley recorded in 1967 and released on the RCA label in 1968.

'',

Gary Burton Gary Burton (born January 23, 1943) is an American jazz vibraphonist, composer, and educator. Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the prevailing two-mallet technique. This approach caused him to be h ...

(

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westin ...

) * 1970: ''

Liberation Music Orchestra Charles Edward Haden (August 6, 1937 – July 11, 2014) was an American jazz double bass player, bandleader, composer and educator whose career spanned more than 50 years. In the late 1950s, he was an original member of the ground-breaking ...

'', Charlie Haden and the Liberation Music Orchestra (

Impulse! Impulse! Records (occasionally styled as "¡mpulse! Records" and "¡!") is an American jazz record company and label established by Creed Taylor in 1960. John Coltrane was among Impulse!'s earliest signings. Thanks to consistent sales and positiv ...

) * 1976: ''

Kew. Rhone. ''Kew. Rhone.'' is a concept album by British bass guitarist and composer John Greaves, and American singer-songwriter and guitarist Peter Blegvad. It is a song cycle composed by Greaves with lyrics by Blegvad, and was performed by Greaves and B ...

'', John Greaves and Peter Blegvad (

Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

) * 1981: '' Nick Mason's Fictitious Sports'',

(

Harvest Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most lab ...

) * 1983: '' The Ballad of the Fallen'' Charlie Haden and the Liberation Music Orchestra (ECM)

References

External links

Official Michael Mantler website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mantler, Michael 1943 births Living people Austrian male composers Austrian composers Austrian jazz trumpeters Male trumpeters American jazz composers American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters Musicians from Vienna 21st-century trumpeters American male jazz composers 21st-century American male musicians