Loading details…
Artist
Misha Mengelberg Quartet
12+ albums
jazzfree jazzdutchpianoHarmolodic
about
Misha Mengelberg (5 June 1935 – 3 March 2017) was a Dutch jazz pianist and composer. Mengelberg's first appearance on record was on one of Eric Dolphy's final recording, Last Date (1964). Also on that record was the drummer Han Bennink, and the two of them, together with saxophonist Piet Noordijk, formed a quartet which had a number of different bassists, and which played at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1966. In 1967 he co-founded the Instant Composers Pool, an organisation which promoted avant garde Dutch jazz performances and recordings, with Bennink and Willem Breuker. He was co-founder of STEIM in Amsterdam in 1969. Mengelberg played with a large variety of musicians. He often performed in a duo with fellow Dutchman Bennink, with other collaborators including Derek Bailey, Peter Brötzmann, Evan Parker, Anthony Braxton, and (on the flip side of a live recording with Dolphy) his pet parrot. He was also one of the earliest exponents of the work of the once-neglected pianist Herbie Nichols. He also wrote music for others to perform (generally leaving some room for improvisation) and oversaw a number of music theatre productions, which usually included a large element of absurdist humour. A 2006 DVD release, Afijn (ICP/Data), is a primer on Mengelberg's life and work, containing an 80-minute documentary and additional concert footage. He won the Gaudeamus International Composers Award in 1961. Two of his students were Oscar van Dillen and Cor Fuhler. Mengelberg died in Amst
