Jazzfest Berlin: “Free jazz has to swing”

taz: Alexander von Schlippenbach, how would you describe your music?

Von Schlippenbach: As free jazz. I can't describe it any other way. Even today.

taz: You could also describe it as freely improvised music?

The artist: Alexander von Schlippenbach, born in Berlin in 1938, studied music in Cologne in the 1950s and initially played there as a pianist in bebop bands. With his combination of twelve-tone music and free improvisational forms, he is considered one of the founding fathers of European free jazz, who developed his own musical language. His Globe Unity Orchestra, founded in 1966, is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year.

The concert: Globe Unity Orchestra at the Jazzfest Berlin on November 1st, 2026 in the Haus der Berliner Festspiele.

taz: In 1966 you were commissioned to compose a string quartet with two jazz soloists at the Berlin Jazz Festival. How did this lead to the founding of the Globe Unity Orchestra, which still exists today?

Von Schlippenbach: I didn't like the idea and instead suggested trying out free jazz with a larger cast. The core was a double formation of the Manfred Schoof Quintet and the Peter Brötzmann Trio.

Von Schlippenbach: The name was based on the fascination with Bernd Alois Zimmermann's idea of ​​a spherical shape of time: It is an aesthetic idea that the past, present and future form a unity and that all developments and all types of music are represented at the same time in a large circular structure. “Unity” was inspired by the US jazz pianist Cecil Taylor, who always spoke of a “unit”, an association of musicians. The name of the composition then also established itself as the name for the orchestra.

taz: How did you approach the idea of ​​composing free jazz for orchestra back then?

Von Schlippenbach: With hand signals and through certain signals. At that time we had expanded the percussion; I had tubular bells because I found them interesting and beautiful. A big fanfare, I still remember, with giant cymbals and gongs. I didn't necessarily have to give a conductor's signal; sometimes a significant hit on a percussion was enough for my colleagues to know.

Von Schlippenbach: Volume goes from triple fortissimo to triple pianissimo and everything in between. That was pretty open for us. Most of the time it was rather violent. There was also the so-called “general cluster”, as a tutti chord for the entire keyboard at the same time. A board that was designed to be stacked on top of each other so that it fit exactly in the handle. We experimented a lot back then, including with materials.

Von Schlippenbach: Good question, at our concert debut as Globe Unity everyone was supposed to wear a “quality suit” on stage, as they said, and ties of course. But that quickly changed in order to counteract the bourgeois habitus through clothing. Then suddenly it was no longer “dress up when you go on stage” but the motto was “dressing down”. So we stopped wearing the tuxedos.

taz: In the 1970s you gave workshop concerts in Wuppertal together with Globe Unity and Peter Kowald. European musicians played in the orchestra, including Enrico Rava, Tomasz Stanko, Han Bennink and Evan Parker. Even later, US jazz avant-gardists such as Anthony Braxton and George Lewis were also there. How did this come about?

Von Schlippenbach: We played at the club “The Empty Bottle” in Chicago, where we met members of the Chicago AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians), of which Anthony and George are also members. There were a number of concerts and recordings, especially with George Lewis.

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taz: The Globe Unity Orchestra has now been around for 60 years. How has music changed since then?

Von Schlippenbach: An important change was that from the 1980s onwards we only improvised freely. Out of the improvisational impetus, as I call it. It is particularly important to me today that this impetus develops unchecked. The moment you make a date, improvisation is already conditioned in the player's head. Now you might think that everyone just plays whatever they want. However, that is not the case. It depends on the interaction, that is very important.

taz: Will that also be the case at your performance at the Jazz Festival?

Von Schlippenbach: I don't want to reveal too much right now, it will most likely be the Globe Unity Orchestra's last appearance. We want to take a sort of balance sheet. From everything we have done, from our entire experience.

taz: How big is the risk of failing at live concerts?