Two discs - Duke Ellington/Live In Paris and Albert Mangelsorff/Trilogue - given to the seven
years old Markus Schieferdecker by his teacher waked his enthusiasm for jazz. He began
with the clarinet, followed by saxophone and guitar.

With fifteen he started playing the e-bass, a year later the double-bass. Already with eighteen Schieferdecker was admitted to the Meistersinger-Konservatorium in Nuremberg. He jammed with the local heroes of that time - Frank Möbus, Rudi Mahall, Dejan Terzic and Lutz Häfner. Then he studied at the Hermann-Zilcher-Konservatorium in Würzburg under Peter Gartiser.

Soon Albert Mangelsdorff took him into the German-French Jazz Ensemble where he stayed until the trombone player´s death. As thoroughly educated excellent bass player (Jazz Competition Leipzig, Culture Prize of Nuremberg, Jazz Competition Leverkusen and Bilbao, Culture Prize of Bavaria a. o.), he became a member of Mangelsdorff´s band "Old Friends".

His last concert with Mangelsdorff he played with his quintet in September 2004 in the European
Park Rust recorded by 3-Sat.

The above mentioned CDs went with him from Nuremberg to Cologne, where he completed
his studies under Dieter Manderscheid and John Goldsby at the Hochsule für Musik. After
an excellent examination he could visit the master class and take his finals in 2004.

During the last years the renowned and most demanded bass player discovered his love
to composing. Some of his titles he published now with a formidable band. The four top
musicians of the American and the German jazz scene are: Bill Stewart (drums), Kevin
Hays (piano), Lutz Häfner (tenor saxophone) and Rudi Mahall (bass clarinet). Kevin
Hays was won over the project by Alex Sipiagin (Schieferdecker had been his sideman
once) and Hays proposed Bill Stewart for the drummer´s chair.

The bandleader after the recordings: "It´s a great delight to play with Bill and Kevin." And so with Lutz Häfner and Rudi Mahall. They know each other for years, and although they are totally different types with different styles, they have a perfect understanding.