Free Jazz Goes Underground

Artists

Emil Wurster Frank St. Peter Fred Christmann Hans Hartmann Heinz Habermann Mike Brooks Peter Herboltzheimer Rainer Vogelei Udo Lindenberg alias Lyndon Berg

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Genre

Funk

Release Date

01.01.1970

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Who is Lyndon Berg, the singer and drummer supposedly on this record? Whoever listens very carefully and with a bit of fantasy may be able to recognize the voice: German rock star Udo Lindenberg. It’s not easy to detect, since there is a second vocalist as well, and the typical Udo characteristics are missing: the texts are in English, not German; his typical vocal style is absent. Even so the 1969 LP can be seen as evidence of his upcoming singing career. Lindenberg had only recently arrived in Hamburg; musicians knew him as a capable drummer. Klaus Doldinger needed a drummer who could swing in 4/4 as well as play rock beats for his band Passport, so he grabbed Udo. Newcomer Lindenberg hung out at the basement club, the Jazzhouse, on Brandstwiete Street, cattycorner from the SPIEGEL building complex in Hamburg’s historic quarter. It was here that he ran into trumpeter Fred Christmann and the American saxophonist Frank St. Peter. The three formed the group Free Orbit. For the recording in the Jazzhouse the band came out with nine musicians, including trombonist Peter Herbolzheimer, who in 1988 became the leader of Germany’s National Youth Jazz Orchestra. Lindenberg wrote the music and text for most of the pieces, Frank St. Peter scored all the arrangements. Counter to the title’s proclaiming, Free Jazz Goes Underground, the LP offers up basic rock-jazz. Only on the last piece, Flying Windmill do the horns improvise with a modern slant and Lyndon Berg drums out a solo.

“When we hit the studio in 1969 to record Free Orbit, the hippie movement was at its peak. A massive, global awakening. It felt like someone had thrown open the world’s windows and let in the wind of radical change.” – Udo Lindenberg

The reissue of Free Jazz Goes Underground brings back the raw energy and untamed idealism of the 1960s. Originally released in 1970, the debut studio album by Free Orbit—the band led by singer and drummer Udo Lindenberg, who was still performing in English at the time—is returning in an exclusive special edition. Over 55 years after its original release, Free Jazz Goes Underground will be reissued on May 30, 2025 via MPS, bringing a true piece of history back to life.

The reissue will be available as a Digipak CD as well as a limited, numbered special edition, featuring the album on ink-spot vinyl along with a magenta-transparent 10″ vinyl containing three bonus tracks from Lindenberg’s first solo album. For the first time ever, the release also includes German translations of the lyrics by Udo Lindenberg and Beatrice Reszat.

In his newly written liner notes, Lindenberg reflects on a time of upheaval and transformation: “I didn’t just want to sing and be famous—I wanted to make a difference.”

Bands like Chicago or Blood, Sweat & Tears may have served as a source of inspiration back then, but Free Orbit’s sound stands on its own. Contrary to what the title might suggest, the band delivers a fusion of jazz and rock with occasional pop and soul influences, also characterized by the sometimes melodic and soulfully arranged, sometimes driving and energetic sound of the brass section led by trombonist Peter Herbolzheimer.

Available from May 30, 2025, this limited special edition of Free Jazz Goes Underground is an absolute must-have for jazz-rock lovers, Udo Lindenberg fans, and anyone who still believes in the ideals of freedom, peace, and social change. Bring this piece of musical history back into your collection—and let yourself be inspired once again by the vision of a better world.

You can pre-order the album here: https://MPS.lnk.to/FreeJazzGoesUndergroundWE
Physical product available in GSA only.

Tracklist

Never Felt So Free
Amsterdam
You Got It
What Colour Has The Soul
Keep On Dreaming
All My Love Girl
World Of Illusion
Big Family
I’ll Make You Love Me
Flying Windmill

+ 3 Bonus Tracks (vinyl only)