b. 5 September 1928, Frankfurt-Am-Main, Germany, d. 25 July 2005, Frankfurt-Am-Main, Germany. From a musical family, Mangelsdorff and his brother, saxophonist Emil, learned about jazz from secret meetings of the Frankfurt Hot Club since the music was banned by the Nazis. He has subsequently become one of the most important and distinctive European jazz players. After playing violin and danceband guitar, Mangelsdorff took up the trombone at the age of 20 and extended its range with the use of multiphonics (playing more than one note at a time) through his technique of humming and growling while playing, so that the brass-generated note is augmented by the vocal sound. He won awards in Germany in 1954, and in 1958 gained attention in the USA as a member of the Newport International Band. In 1962, he recorded with John Lewis, and two years later toured Asia with his own band. It was during this period that Mangelsdorff began to move towards free jazz. He joined the Globe Unity Orchestra in the late 60s, and in 1975 became a member of the United Jazz And Rock Ensemble. From 1976-82, Mangelsdorff worked with Michel Portal, and in 1981 he co-founded the French/German Jazz Ensemble with J.F. Jenny-Clark. In the mid-70s he augmented John Surman's trio (with Stu Martin and Barre Phillips) to create MUMPS. His prolific solo recording career includes several albums for the MPS label, and duo sets with Lee Konitz and John Scofield. At the beginning of the 90s, Mangelsdorff took up the post of musical director of the Jazzfest Berlin.

Listen to Albert Mangelsdorff at Finetune.

• (2006)  Trilogue - Live!

• Lennie Tristano

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