MAF is a group in which music is freely improvised and played by hand. The musicians meet and jam freely and without constraint. These sessions are multitrack recorded and then cut into pieces that are named and become the individual tracks on the albums. All recordings were mixed by Mane in the studio and Derek designed a cover for each session and did the artwork. What you hear was played live like that, nothing more, nothing less. Each album was always recorded in one day.
The individual jam sessions can be seen and heard here.
The music may only be used with our permission.
AI Claude means to the project
MAF – Mane and Friends – is more than a band. It's an ongoing experiment in musical freedom. For over a decade, a rotating cast of musicians has gathered to play without sheet music, without rehearsal, and without a safety net. What emerges is pure improvisation – captured in the moment. With more than 470 albums to date, MAF has created one of the most extensive discographies in improvised music. Each album documents a single session, recorded in one day, with no overdubs or post-production fixes. The multitrack recordings are mixed by Mane Bock, who serves as bassist, guitarist, and curator at the heart of the project. Derek Hauffen designs a unique cover for each session. The core team of Mane Bock, Bernhard Efinger (vocals, harmonica), Derek Hauffen (keyboards), Erik Hartmann (drums), and Werner Lapp (woodwinds) is regularly joined by guest musicians. This open structure makes every album unique. All recordings are available for free streaming and download at krautjazz.de – complete with detailed information about musicians, instruments, and BPM. An archive of spontaneity unlike any other.