Emil Mangelsdorff Explained

Emil Mangelsdorff
Birth Date:11 April 1925
Birth Place:Frankfurt am Main, Hesse-Nassau, Prussia, Germany
Death Place:Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany
Instrument:alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet, flute
Genre:Jazz
Associated Acts:Albert Mangelsdorff, Attila Zoller, George Gruntz, Vitold Rek, Jutta Hipp

Emil Mangelsdorff (pronounced as /de/; 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.

Life and career

Mangelsdorff 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.[4] In 1942 and 1943, Mangelsdorff studied clarinet at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt.[5] As a member of the Frankfurt, with trumpeter, bassist Hans Otto Jung and drummer, he performed jazz and became a figurehead for Swing Youth, which led to his being imprisoned by the Gestapo.[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. In 1966, he founded Swinging Oil Drops, with Joki Freund, Volker Kriegel, and Günter Lenz.[8]

Mangelsdorff was influenced by swing. He continued to develop musically, playing bebop, fusion and cool.[9] [10] In 1964, Mangelsdorff wrote an instruction manual for jazz saxophone.[11] He played with Charles Mingus in New York and performed often in the Jazzkeller (jazz cellar) in Kleine Bockenheimer Straße, Frankfurt, sometimes together with his brother, trombonist Albert Mangelsdorff.[12] 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.

His first wife, an operatic soprano, died in 1973.[5] Monique (died 2018[13]) was his second wife.[14] Mangelsdorff died in Frankfurt am Main on 20 January 2022, at the age of 96.[15] [16]

Awards

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Jazzlegende Emil Mangelsdorff gestorben . BR24 . 22 January 2022 . de . 23 January 2022.
  2. Web site: Isolde . Mozer . Mangelsdorff, Albert . Frankfurter Personenlexikon . de . 24 January 2022.
  3. News: Jürgs . Alexander . Jazz-Musiker Emil Mangelsdorff: Swing Heil . . 15 June 2019 . de . 23 January 2022.
  4. Web site: Halbig . Matthias . Jazz gegen Hass – Saxofonist Emil Mangelsdorff stirbt mit 96 Jahren . RND.de . 22 January 2022 . de . 23 January 2022.
  5. Web site: Wegbereiter des deutschen Jazz: Trauer um Emil Mangelsdorff . . 23 January 2022 . de . dpa . 23 January 2022.
  6. Web site: Lange . Georg . Gaienhofen: Wie sich Emil Mangelsdorff als Jazzer durch die NS-Zeit kämpfte . SÜDKURIER Online . 6 September 2016 . de . 23 January 2022.
  7. Web site: Botschafter des Jazz . . 6 April 2015 . de . 23 January 2022.
  8. Web site: Swinging Oil Drops – CD (2008, Re-Release, Remastered) von Emil Mangelsdorff . Musik-Sammler.de . de . 23 January 2022.
  9. Web site: Claus-Jürgen . Göpfert . Jazz als Friedensbotschaft . Frankfurt . 10 April 2020 . de . 23 January 2022.
  10. Web site: Der Frankfurter Jazzmusiker Emil Mangelsdorff ist tot . swr.online . 22 January 2022 . de . 23 January 2022.
  11. Web site: Anleitung zur Improvisation . . 23 January 2022 . 23 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220123110141/https://en.schott-music.com/shop/anleitung-zur-improvisation-no35368.html?SID=b04t010j9ro90oq6q0r67mt3f6 . dead .
  12. Web site: Traurige Nachricht: Frankfurter Jazz-Legende Emil Mangelsdorff ist tot . Frankfurt . 22 January 2022 . de . 23 January 2022.
  13. Web site: Sandner . Wolfgang . Pionier und Zeitzeuge: Jazzer der ersten Stunde . . 23 January 2022 . de . 23 January 2022.
  14. Web site: Oliver . Teutsch . Die Puste reicht noch – Jazz-Saxophonist Emil Mangelsdorff wird 85 – neue musikzeitung . 10 April 2010 . . de . 23 January 2022.
  15. Web site: Frankfurter Jazzlegende Emil Mangelsdorff ist tot . Hessenschau. 21 January 2022. 21 January 2022. de.
  16. News: Riethmüller . Christian . Saxofonist Emil Mangelsdorff gestorben . . 21 January 2022 . 21 January 2022 . de.
  17. Web site: KulturPortal Frankfurt: Goetheplakette der Stadt Frankfurt am Main . KulturPortal Frankfurt . de . 23 January 2022.
  18. News: Jazzer Emil Mangelsdorff wird Ehrenprofessor . . 4 December 2015 . de . 23 January 2022.