Albert Mangelsdorff
b. 5 September 1928, 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 jazz 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, he 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. In 1964 he toured Asia with his own band and at that time began to move towards free jazz. He also recorded an album with Ravi Shankar. In the late '60s he joined the Globe Unity Orchestra. In 1975, he joined 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 The Trio (with Barre Phillips and Stu Martin) to create MUMPS. In 1986 he and Surman joined with Elvin Jones and Dave Holland for a tour of Europe.