Berlin Contemporary Jazz Orchestra

The Berlin Contemporary Jazz Orchestra is a large German jazz ensemble led by Alexander von Schlippenbach. The orchestra performs orchestral jazz and experimental big band music and has included in its ranks such leading musicians as Misha Mengelberg and Kenny Wheeler. The orchestra, which performs rather infrequently, was founded in 1988 by Schlippenbach and has commissioned works by Carla Bley, Manfred Schoof, and Willem Breuker, among others.