Emil Mangelsdorff ([ˈɛmɪl ˈmaŋl̩s.dɔʁf]; 11 April 1925 – 20 January 2022) was a German jazz musician who played alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet and flute. He was a jazz pioneer under the Nazi regime which led to his imprisonment. After World War II and years as a prisoner of war, he was a founding member of the jazz ensemble of Hessischer Rundfunk in 1958. He played with several groups and was active, also as an educator, until old age.
Emil Mangelsdorff | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Mangelsdorff in 2015 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 11 April 1925 Frankfurt am Main, Hesse-Nassau, Prussia, Germany |
| Died | 20 January 2022 (aged 96) Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Instrument(s) | alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet, flute |
Life and career
editMangelsdorff was born in Frankfurt,[1] as the son of the bookbinder Emil Albert Joseph Mangelsdorff (1891–1963), born in Ingolstadt, and his wife Luise, née Becker (1896–1976), from Wertheim.[2] Mangelsdorff was introduced to jazz at age nine, when his mother switched to Radio Luxemburg, and he heard the voice of Louis Armstrong.[3] His first instrument was accordion.[3][4] In 1942 and 1943, Mangelsdorff studied clarinet at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt.[5] As a member of the Frankfurt Hotclub Combo, with trumpeter Carlo Bohländer, bassist Hans Otto Jung and drummer Hans Podehl, he performed jazz and became a figurehead for Swing Youth,[2] which led to his being imprisoned by the Gestapo.[3][6] He was forced into the German army and was a Russian prisoner of war for four years.[7] In 1949, he returned to Frankfurt and decided to become a professional jazz musician. He played in the groups of Joe Klimm and Jutta Hipp, and was also a member of the Frankfurt All Stars and of the jazz ensemble of the broadcaster Hessischer Rundfunk from 1958.[8][9] In 1966, he founded Swinging Oil Drops, with Joki Freund, Volker Kriegel, Fritz Hartschuh and Günter Lenz.[5][10]
Mangelsdorff was influenced by swing.[5] He continued to develop musically, playing bebop, fusion and cool.[11][12] In 1964, Mangelsdorff wrote an instruction manual for jazz saxophone.[13] He played with Charles Mingus in New York[5] and performed often in the Jazzkeller (jazz cellar) in Kleine Bockenheimer Straße, Frankfurt, sometimes together with his brother, trombonist Albert Mangelsdorff.[8][14] He gave his last concert in Frankfurt's Holzhausenschlösschen on 1 November 2021.[5] He also informed in schools about the Nazi era as a witness of the time, continuing remembrance work until old age.[4]
His first wife Simone, an operatic soprano, died in 1973.[5] Monique (died 2018[15]) was his second wife.[16] Mangelsdorff died in Frankfurt am Main on 20 January 2022, at the age of 96.[9][8]
Awards
edit- 1995 Hessian Jazz Prize[8]
- 1995 Goethe Plaque of the City of Frankfurt[17]
- 2001 Wilhelm Leuschner Medal[8]
- 2006 Goethe-Plakette of Hesse[8]
- 2008 Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany[8]
- 2015 Honorary professorship of the state of Hesse[18]
References
edit- ^ "Jazzlegende Emil Mangelsdorff gestorben". BR24 (in German). 22 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
- ^ a b Mozer, Isolde. "Mangelsdorff, Albert". Frankfurter Personenlexikon (in German). Retrieved 24 January 2022.
- ^ a b c Jürgs, Alexander (15 June 2019). "Jazz-Musiker Emil Mangelsdorff: Swing Heil". FAZ (in German). Retrieved 23 January 2022.
- ^ a b Halbig, Matthias (22 January 2022). "Jazz gegen Hass – Saxofonist Emil Mangelsdorff stirbt mit 96 Jahren". RND.de (in German). Retrieved 23 January 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f "Wegbereiter des deutschen Jazz: Trauer um Emil Mangelsdorff". Süddeutsche.de (in German). dpa. 23 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
- ^ Lange, Georg (6 September 2016). "Gaienhofen: Wie sich Emil Mangelsdorff als Jazzer durch die NS-Zeit kämpfte". SÜDKURIER Online (in German). Retrieved 23 January 2022.
- ^ "Botschafter des Jazz". Frankfurter Rundschau (in German). 6 April 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g Riethmüller, Christian (21 January 2022). "Saxofonist Emil Mangelsdorff gestorben". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 21 January 2022.
- ^ a b "Frankfurter Jazzlegende Emil Mangelsdorff ist tot" (in German). Hessenschau. 21 January 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
- ^ "Swinging Oil Drops – CD (2008, Re-Release, Remastered) von Emil Mangelsdorff". Musik-Sammler.de (in German). Retrieved 23 January 2022.
- ^ Göpfert, Claus-Jürgen (10 April 2020). "Jazz als Friedensbotschaft". Frankfurt (in German). Retrieved 23 January 2022.
- ^ "Der Frankfurter Jazzmusiker Emil Mangelsdorff ist tot". swr.online (in German). 22 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
- ^ "Anleitung zur Improvisation". Schott Music. Archived from the original on 23 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
- ^ "Traurige Nachricht: Frankfurter Jazz-Legende Emil Mangelsdorff ist tot". Frankfurt (in German). 22 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
- ^ Sandner, Wolfgang (23 January 2022). "Pionier und Zeitzeuge: Jazzer der ersten Stunde". FAZ.NET (in German). Retrieved 23 January 2022.
- ^ Teutsch, Oliver (10 April 2010). "Die Puste reicht noch – Jazz-Saxophonist Emil Mangelsdorff wird 85 – neue musikzeitung". nmz (in German). Retrieved 23 January 2022.
- ^ "KulturPortal Frankfurt: Goetheplakette der Stadt Frankfurt am Main". KulturPortal Frankfurt (in German). Retrieved 23 January 2022.
- ^ "Jazzer Emil Mangelsdorff wird Ehrenprofessor". Die Welt (in German). 4 December 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
Further reading
edit- Carlo Bohländer, Karl Heinz Holler, Christian Pfarr: Reclams Jazzführer. 5th edition, Reclam, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-15-010464-5.
- Ian Carr, Digby Fairweather, Brian Priestley: Rough Guide Jazz. Der ultimative Führer zur Jazzmusik. 1700 Künstler und Bands von den Anfängen bis heute. Metzler, Stuttgart/Weimar 1999, ISBN 3-476-01584-X.
- Wolf Kampmann (ed.), with Ekkehard Jost: Reclams Jazzlexikon. Reclam, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-15-010528-5.
- Michael H. Kater, Different Drummers: Jazz in the Culture of Nazi Germany, Oxford 2003, ISBN 0-19-516553-5
- Martin Kunzler: Jazz-Lexikon. vol. 2: M–Z (= rororo-Sachbuch. vol. 16513). 2nd edition. Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 2004, ISBN 3-499-16513-9.
- Boulton, Heidi (2003). "Mangelsdorff, Emil". Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.j287300. (subscription required)
- Mümpfer, von Klaus (9 May 2018). "Emil Mangelsdorff im Gespräch mit Klaus Mümpfer – Jazz in Deutschland / Germany". Jazz in Deutschland / Germany – Jazzpages (in German). Retrieved 23 January 2022.
- Linke, Hans-Jürgen (22 January 2022). "Nachruf auf Emil Mangelsdorff: Musik für Freiheit und Gleichheit". Frankfurter Rundschau (in German). Retrieved 23 January 2022.
External links
edit
- Emil Mangelsdorff discography at Discogs