Free music and jazz enthusiast Manfred Scheffner died in Munich on 6 September. He was 79 years old.

Scheffner was born in 1939 in Hardteck, East Prussia (now Krasnolesye, Russia). In 1965 he edited Bielefelder Jazzcatalog, a resource for information about modern jazz and free jazz records. He was a lifelong advocate of small independent labels such as Emanem, ICP and FMP, and in 1967 he opened the Munich record store Jazz By Post.

In 1969 Scheffner co-founded ECM Records with Karl Egger and Manfred Eicher – indeed, he’s listed in the production credits of the label’s first release, Mal Waldron Trio’s Free At Last.

“A truly kind and encyclopedic persona, invaluable for being the cornucopia for countless fans of Experimental Musics,” remarks German promoter Jochen Behring.