Hartmut Geerken

Born in Stuttgart in 1939, Geerken studied oriental studies, philosophy, and comparative religion in Tübingen and Istanbul before joining the Goethe-Institut, which posted him to Cairo (1966–72), Kabul (1972–79), and Athens (1979–83). His years in Egypt were musically formative: he brought the Sun Ra Arkestra to Cairo in 1971 and co-founded the Cairo Free Jazz Ensemble. A percussionist as well as flutist, he collaborated over decades with Sun Ra, John Tchicai, and Sainkho Namtchylak. He was also a practitioner of concrete and visual poetry and organised the annual Bielefeld New Poetry Colloquium. He died in October 2021.