Emil Mangelsdorff

Emil Mangelsdorff
Background information
Birth name	Emil Mangelsdorff
Born	(1925-04-11) April 11, 1925
Origin	Frankfurt am Main
Genres	Jazz
Instrument(s)	alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet, flute

Emil Mangelsdorff (born April 11, 1925, in Frankfurt am Main) is a jazz musician who plays alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet and flute.

In 1942 and 1943, Mangelsdorff studied clarinet at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt. As a member of the (illegal) Frankfurt Hot Club, his performing of jazz led him to being imprisoned by the Gestapo. He was forced into the Hitler army and was a Russian prisoner of war for four years. In 1949 he came back to Frankfurt and decided to become a professional jazz musician. He played in the combos of Joe Klimm and Jutta Hipp, and was also a member of the Frankfurt All Stars and of the Jazz-Ensemble des Hessischen Rundfunks from 1958. Since the 1960s he has directed his own quartet.

In 1964 Mangelsdorff wrote an instruction manual for jazz saxophone. In 2006 he was awarded the Goethe-Plakette des Landes Hessen. In 2008 he received the Bundesverdienstkreuz.

Jazz trombonist Albert Mangelsdorff was his brother.

Sources

• Carlo Bohländer, Reclams Jazzführer, Stuttgart 1970
• Michael H. Kater, Different Drummers: Jazz in the Culture of Nazi Germany, Oxford 2003, ISBN 0-19-516553-5