Globe Unity Orchestra

The Globe Unity Orchestra is a free jazz ensemble.

Globe Unity was formed in autumn 1966 with a commission received by Alexander von Schlippenbach from the Berlin Jazz Festival. It had its debut at the Berliner Philharmonie on 3 November combining Gunter Hampel's quartet with Manfred Schoof' s quintet and Peter Brötzmann's trio: Hampel (bcl,fl); Willem Breuker (bs,ss); Schoof (tp) with Gerd Dudek (ts); Alexander von Schlippenbach (p); Buschi Niebergall (b) and Jaki Liebezeit (d) on one side, Brötzmann (saxophones), Peter Kowald (b, tuba), Sven-Åke Johansson (d) on the other.

During the next years this core group was completed by other European and American musicians: Johannes Bauer (tb), Anthony Braxton (as, cl), Willem Breuker (ts), Rüdiger Carl (as, ts), Günter Christmann (tb), Gunter Hampel (bcl), Toshinori Kondo (tp), Steve Lacy (ss), Paul Lovens (drums), Paul Lytton (drums), Albert Mangelsdorff (tb), Evan Parker (ss, ts), Michel Pilz (bcl, cl, bars), Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky (as, cl, fl), Enrico Rava (tp), Paul Rutherford (tb), Heinz Sauer (ss, ts), Bob Stewart (tuba), and Kenny Wheeler (tp).

The Orchestra has been described as providing "the most remarkable assemblies of outside jazz talent since the AACM big bands".

They performed in New Delhi, India for the Jazz Yatra in late 1970s. They performed at the Ashoka Hotel, New Delhi in 1978.

The final concert in the group's main lifetime was at the Chicago Jazz Festival in 1987.

The 40th anniversary line-up for the 2006 concerts and recordings were the saxophone players Evan Parker, E.-L. Petrowsky, G. Dudek, Rudi Mahall (bcl)), the trumpets Kenny Wheeler, M. Schoof, Axel Dörner, Jean-Luc Cappozzo and trombonists P. Rutherford, George Lewis, Jeb Bishop, J. Bauer) with Alexander von Schlippenbach (p), and drummers P. Lovens und P. Lytton.

Discography

 * 1966: Alexander Schlippenbach: Globe Unity, Saba/MPS
 * 1967/70: Globe Unity 67 & 70, Atavistic/Unheard Music Series
 * 1973: Live in Wuppertal, FMP 0160
 * 1973: For example, FMP R123 (one track)
 * 1974: Der alte Mann bricht ... sein Schweigen, FMP S4 (single)
 * 1974: Hamburg '74, FMP 0650
 * 1975: Bavarian Calypso/Good bye, FMP S6 (single)
 * 1975: Rumbling, FMP CD 40
 * 1975/1976: Jahrmarkt/Local Fair, Po Torch PTR/JWD 2
 * 1977: Improvisations, JAPO 60021
 * 1977: Pearls, FMP 0380
 * 1979: Compositions, JAPO 60027
 * 1982: Intergalactic Blow, JAPO 60039
 * 1986: 20th anniversary, FMP CD45
 * 2002: Globe Unity 2002, Intakt CD 086
 * 2006: Globe Unity - 40 Years, Intakt CD 133