Peter Brötzmann was a German jazz saxophonist and clarinetist regarded as a central and pioneering figure in European free jazz. Throughout his career, he released over fifty albums as a bandleader. Amongst his many collaborators were key figures in free jazz, including Derek Bailey, Anthony Braxton and Cecil Taylor, as well as experimental musicians such as Keiji Haino and Charles Hayward. His 1968 Machine Gun became "one of the landmark albums of 20th-century free jazz".
Han Bennink is a Dutch drummer and percussionist. On occasion his recordings have featured him playing soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, trombone, violin, banjo and piano.
Evan Shaw Parker is a British tenor and soprano saxophone player who plays free improvisation.
Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, OC was a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. from the 1950s onwards.
Paul Lovens is a German musician. He plays drums, percussion, singing saw, and cymbals. He has performed with the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra and Berlin Contemporary Jazz Orchestra.
Irène Schweizer is a Swiss jazz and free improvising pianist. She was born in Schaffhausen, Switzerland.
Paul William Rutherford was an English free improvising trombonist.
The Globe Unity Orchestra is a free jazz ensemble.
Manfred Schoof is a German jazz trumpeter.
Aki Takase is a Japanese jazz pianist and composer.
Gerhard Rochus "Gerd" Dudek was a German jazz tenor and soprano saxophonist, clarinetist and flautist.
Philipp John Paul Wachsmann is an African avant-garde jazz/jazz fusion violinist born in Kampala, Uganda, probably better known for having founded his own group Chamberpot. He has worked with many musicians in the free jazz idiom, including Tony Oxley, Fred van Hove, Barry Guy, Derek Bailey and Paul Rutherford, among many others. Wachsmann is especially known for playing within the electronica idiom.
Buschi Niebergall was a German free jazz musician. His given name was Hans-Helmut, and late in life, his friends called him Johannes.
The Berlin Contemporary Jazz Orchestra is a large German jazz ensemble led by Alexander von Schlippenbach. The orchestra performs orchestral jazz and experimental big band music and has included in its ranks such leading musicians as Misha Mengelberg and Kenny Wheeler. The orchestra, which performs rather infrequently, was founded in 1988 by Schlippenbach and has commissioned works by Carla Bley, Manfred Schoof, and Willem Breuker, among others.
Rudi Mahall is a contemporary jazz bass clarinetist.
Axel Dörner is a German trumpeter, pianist, and composer.
Piano Duets: Live in Berlin 93/94 is an album by Aki Takase and Alexander von Schlippenbach.
So Long, Eric! – Homage to Eric Dolphy is an album by Aki Takase and Alexander von Schlippenbach.
The Morlocks and Other Pieces is an album by Alexander von Schlippenbach and the Berlin Contemporary Jazz Orchestra. It was recorded in July 1993 at RIAS Studio 10 in Berlin, and was released in 1994 by FMP. It features six compositions by Schlippenbach with dates ranging from 1983 to 1993.
Live in Japan '96 is a live album by the Berlin Contemporary Jazz Orchestra. One track was recorded in July 1996 at Nakano Public Hall in Tokyo, while the remaining tracks were recorded in August 1996 at Shin-Kobe Oriental Theatre in Kobe. The album was released in 1997 by DIW. The music was conducted by Alexander von Schlippenbach and Aki Takase.
