“Alexander von Schlippenbach (sometimes referred to as Alex von Schlippenbach) (born April 7. 1938 in Berlin. He is a German composer and jazz pianist. Schlippenbach began playing piano at the age of eight and continued his studies in composition at Cologne under Bernd Allois Zimmermann. He began playing with Manfred Schoof while he was studying. He founded the Globe Unity Orchestra at the age of 28. He founded the Berlin Contemporary Jazz Orchestra in 1988. This big band has included, among others: Willem Breuker and Paul Lovens, Misha Mengelberg and Evan Parker. Schlippenbach’s spouse Aki Takase, Kenny Wheeler, and Schlippenbach. He was awarded the Albert Mangelsdorff Prize in 1994. He recorded many recordings and worked with German radio stations. He was a member of many important European free jazz musicians. He recorded Thelonious Monk’s complete works in 1999. Text contributed by users is available under Creative Commons By–SA License. It may also be available under GNU FDL.
