Gerd Dudek
b. Gerhard Rochus Dudek, 28 September 1938, Gross Dober, Germany. Dudek emerged as a key jazz figure in the '60s with Manfred Schoof and Alexander von Schlippenbach. He played with them over the years, as well as others, including Joachim Kuhn and Albert Mangelsdorff. In Dudek, Europe possesses arguably its most convincing exponent of mid-to-late-period John Coltrane. Dudek has been a key partner in Schlippenbach's projects—in Globe Unity, on their Jelly Roll Morton tribute, and as one of the outstanding soloists on the BERLIN CONTEMPORARY JAZZ ORCHESTRa session. The co-operative groups the Quartet, the European Jazz Quartet, and the European Jazz Ensemble have all benefited from his hard-driving but lyrical tenor, soprano, clarinet and flute.