As one of Europe's foremost bandleaders in free jazz, pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach fuses improvisational liberty with contemporary classical influences throughout his output, where his incisive solo lines frequently serve as the connective thread in his pieces. Commissioned by the Berliner Jazztage, the composition "Globe Unity" prompted him to establish the Globe Unity Orchestra in 1966; he stayed active with the ensemble through the 1980s aside from a single hiatus spanning 1971 to 1972. Beginning piano studies at age eight, he later trained at Cologne's Staatliche Hochschule für Musik under Bernd Alois Zimmermann and Rudolf Petzold. Early professional work included a 1963 stint alongside Gunther Hampel and membership in Manfred Schoof's quintet from 1964 to 1967. From 1967 onward he led an array of groups, notably a 1970 trio featuring Evan Parker and Paul Lovens—both of whom also appeared in his quartet with bassist Peter Kowald—and a duo launched jointly with drummer/vocalist Sven-Ake Johansson in 1976. Numerous solo recitals have punctuated his career as well. During the late 1980s he assembled the Berlin Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, which has showcased prominent European avant-garde jazz figures such as Evan Parker, Paul Lovens, and second pianist Misha Mengelberg, later succeeded by Aki Takase. Although he has issued the bulk of his recordings on FMP, labels including Japo, Saba, and Po Torch have also documented his projects; in 2000 the Atavistic imprint joined this roster by reissuing the Schlippenbach Quartet's 1975 album Hunting the Snake.
