Maarten Altena

One of the early European free jazz bassists of note, Altena first came to the attention of American audiences via alto saxophonist Marion Brown's 1967 album Porto Novo (the album also featured Dutch drummer Han Bennink). Altena studied music at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam from 1961-1967. His first recording was made in 1967 as a member of saxophonist Theo Loevendie's jazz group (Loevendie subsequently embarked on a more successful career as a composer of classical works). In the '60s and '70s, Altena played with soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy, saxophonist/composer...