German and English. 288 pages, paperback. Published by FMP-Publishing, Berlin, with cover photographs by Gérard Rouy and artwork by Peter Brötzmann.

Sixty years ago, Alexander von Schlippenbach received a commission from Rias Berlin to compose a piece for the Berlin Jazz Days (Berliner Jazztage). At the time, Schlippenbach caused a sensation; his composition and his large ensemble, composed of the crème de la crème of the German Free Jazz scene, became famous overnight.

The book Globe Unity 60 tells, for the first time, one of the possible stories of this exceptional ensemble, including details about the recordings the Globe Unity Orchestra has released over the past 60 years. In addition, all known liner notes by Alexander von Schlippenbach have been compiled, as well as liner notes and reviews by third parties. For this purpose, both Alexander von Schlippenbach’s archives and those of FMP were utilized, and Gérard Rouy and Cristina Marx generously provided photographic material spanning nearly 60 years.

Over the decades, all these texts and memories feature repetitions upon repetitions, transcriptions and rewritings, melodies and counterpoints; the orchestra ceases to exist more than once, only to carry on after all. The visual material is supplemented by two exclusive interviews by Maxi Broecking with Alexander von Schlippenbach and George Lewis, as well as new texts and recollections by Paul Hubweber, John Corbett, Steve Lake, and Mats Gustafsson.