The United Jazz + Rock Ensemble biography
Founded in Stuttgart, Germany in 1975 - Disbanded in 2002 - Reformed in 2012 as "Second Generation"

The United Jazz and Rock Ensemble was founded in 1975, when the German TV producer Werner Schretzmeier needed some background music for a TV show for teenagers 'Elfeinhalb' [Eleven-thirty, the title refers to the time of the Sunday morning show] and asked the German jazz pianist Wolfgang Dauner, who's band Et Cetera he had managed since 1972, to compose some music for the show. Targeting a teenage audience Dauner wanted to include rock elements into a big band context and looked for musicians being able to play in both genres. His first choice was Ex-Collosseum drummer John Hiseman, soon joined by guitarist Volker Kriegel and trombone player Albert Mangelsdorff and other musicians. In the beginning the band was called 'Elfeinhalb Ensemble' with frequently changing members playing mainly compositions by Dauner and Kriegel. After a multitude of audience requests for existing records of the 'Elfeinhalb Ensemble' the band decided to do a live record, "Live at The Schützenhaus" in 1977, the hour of birth of The United Jazz and Rock Ensemble as a touring and recording band."Live at The Schützenhaus" became one of the bestselling German jazz records released on the small Mood label. The line up of this record, Wolfgang Dauner (keyboards), Volker Kriegel (guitar), Barbara Thompson (saxes and flute), Charlie Mariano (saxes), Ian Carr (trumpet), Ack van Rooyen (trumpet), Kenny Wheeler (trumpet) Albert Mangeldsorff (trombone), Dave King (bass), Eberhard Weber (bass), Jon Hiseman (drums) would be with small changes the same line-up throughout the history of the band. In 1978 The United Jazz and Rock Ensemble received the 'Deutscher Schallplattenpreis' a prestigious award from the German record industry. The United Jazz and Rock Ensemble recorded and toured from 1977 up to 2002, year of a farewell tour.