German Jazzman Albert Mangelsdorff Dies

Trombone player and composer Albert Mangelsdorff, a leading figure in European jazz circles, died on Monday aged 76 after a long illness, the Frankfurt city authorities announced. Mangelsdorff composed film scores and played with many leading jazz musicians, from John Lewis to Don Cherry, Lee Konitz and Dizzy Gillespie. He had a reputation as an innovative musician who, as the front man of the United Jazz & Rock Ensemble, was a pioneer, especially with the trombone. He developed an elaborate way of playing the instrument, called multiphonics, which entails producing two or more pitches simultaneously on an instrument designed to produce only one.