Markus Müller - Globe Unity 60 (FMP-Publishing, 2026)

By Ferruccio Martinotti

Autumn 1966. Commissioned by Berlin Jazz Festival, pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach reassembles Gunter Hampel quartet with Manfred Schoof quintet and Peter Brotzmann trio: Globe Unity was born and the concept of large unit in jazz was established. The debut takes place on November 3rd at the Berliner Philharmonie, while, a few months later, Saba releases its eponymous debut album, a timeless milestone along the path of the music we love. As is well known, what seemed to be an on-and-off project begins to unfold over the decades, involving ever-new musicians in a global (indeed...) mobile perimeter: Anthony Braxton, Evan Parker, Steve Lacy, Paul Lovens, Enrico Rava, Kenny Wheeler and many others. To quote the Penguin Guide: "an incomparable, free music institution." Markus Müller's book Globe Unity 60 is being released these days on the label he runs, FMP, to mark the album's 60th anniversary and we truly can't imagine a more appropriate way to celebrate that seminal masterpiece. 

The FJC gave due prominence to the extraordinary Free Music Production-The Living Music (here and here), the unmissable compendium of a label that not only reflected the zeitgeist but also helped define it. Readers are therefore encouraged to jump on our colleagues' unsurpassed articles, perfectly suitable to pave the way for this brand new book. A brief note on the author. We're naturally accustomed to associating Müller with FMP, but it's worth highlighting the senior roles held at some of the most important international cultural institutions: the Venice Biennale, the Berlin Biennial, Documenta, the Paris Triennale, MOMA, and Expo Dubai, to name just a few. 

The mindset of such a high-profile curator shines through in this latest editorial project as well. The book kicks off with the genesis of the Globe Unity, offering a timely historical-cultural contextualization of those days, following it in its artistic and geographical development: then Globe Unity ‘67 + ‘70; 1968 - 1978 Wuppertal; the Japo period and the twentieth anniversary; the crucial liaison with Chicago (John Corbett's notes are here essential, as usual); the Intakt and the 40th, 50th and 60th anniversaries. The interviews with George E. Lewis and Alexander von Schlippenbach are worth the price of admission alone, while of great interest is the focus placed by Müller on the Berlin musician's two most relevant projects besides Unity: the trio with Paul Lovens and Evan Parker, the duo with Sven-Ake Johansson. The documentary content is rounded out with liner notes, albums’ and concerts’ reviews, while the iconographic richness is impossible to resist: pictures, studio notes, posters, record covers, flyers and scores are sheer, jaw dropping bonanza. Could Mats Gustafsson be left out? Certainly not, and up to him are the final notes that cap off this peerless book, an absolute gem, not only for compulsive completists, but for every genuine music lover.