Schoof was born in Magdeburg, Germany.[1] He studied music in Kassel and Cologne, where one of his teachers was the big band leader Kurt Edelhagen.[2] Schoof performed on Edelhagen's radio program and toured with Gunter Hampel.[2] In late 50s and early-mid 60, Schoof played with drummer Jaki Liebezeit, the future co-founder of krautrock band Can.[3]
In the 1960s Schoof started a free jazz band with Alexander von Schlippenbach and Gerd Dudek which became the basis for Manfred Schoof Orchestra.[2] From 1969 to 1971 he was a member of the George Russell Orchestra.[2] He has also worked with Jasper Van't Hof and the Globe Unity Orchestra.[2] He composed classical music for Berlin Philharmonic.[2] His group has participated in performances of Die Soldaten, an operatic work by the contemporary composer Bernd Alois Zimmermann.[4] He was featured in a profile on composer Graham Collier in the 1985 Channel 4 documentary 'Hoarded Dreams'.[5]
Since 2007 he has been chairman of the Union Deutscher Jazzmusiker. He has been a professor in Cologne since 1990.[6]
- Voices (CBS, 1966)
- Jazz Meets India (SABA, 1967) – with Dewan Motihar Trio, Irène Schweizer Trio and Barney Wilen
- Manfred Schoof Sextet (Wergo, 1967)
- European Echoes (FMP, 1969)
- Distant Thunder (Enja, 1975) – with Akira Sakata, Yosuke Yamashita and Takeo Moriyama
- Scales (ECM, 1976)
- Light Lines (Japo, 1978)
- The Early Quintet (FMP, 1978)
- Horns (FMP, 1979) – with Gunter Christmann, Gerd Dudek, Albert Mangelsdorff, Paul Rutherford and Kenny Wheeler
- Horizons (Japo, 1980)
- Mal Waldron/Manfred Schoof (Amiga, 1980) – with Mal Waldron
- Reflections (Mood, 1984)
- Power Station (UBM, 1984)
- Meditation (UBM, 1987)
- Shadows & Smiles (Wergo, 1989) – with Rainer Brüninghaus
- Timebreaker (UBM, 1990)
- Crossroad (UBM, 1992)
With European Jazz Ensemble
- Live (Konnex, 1988)
- At the Philharmonic Cologne (MA Music, 1989)
- Meets the Khan Family (MA Music, 1992)
- 20th Anniversary Tour (Konnex, 1997)
- 30th Anniversary Tour 2006 (Konnex, 2009)
With Globe Unity Orchestra
- Live in Wuppertal (FMP, 1973)
- Der Alte Mann Bricht...Sein Schweigen (FMP, 1974)
- Bavarian Calypso/Good Bye (FMP, 1975)
- Pearls (FMP, 1977)
- Improvisations (Japo, 1978)
- Hamburg '74 (FMP, 1979)
- Compositions (Japo, 1980)
- Globe Unity 2002 (Intakt, 2003)
- Baden-Baden '75 (FMP, 2011)
With George Gruntz
- Happening Now! (Hat ART, 1988)
- First Prize (Enja, 1989)
- Renaissance Man (TCB, 2002)
With Gunter Hampel
- Heartplants (SABA, 1965)
- Transformation (Birth, 1976)
- Jubilation (Birth, 1983)
- Legendary: The 27th of May 1997 (Birth, 1998)
- Live at Berlin Philharmonic Hall (Birth, 2014)
With Irmin Schmidt
- Filmmusik Vol. 2 (Spoon, 1981)
- Filmmusik Vol. 3 & 4 (Spoon, 1983)
- Rote Erde (Teldec, 1983)
- Musk at Dusk (WEA, 1987)
With Jasper van 't Hof
- Pili-Pili (Keytone, 1984)
- Hoomba-Hoomba (Virgin, 1985)
- Jakko (Jaro, 1987)
With Alexander von Schlippenbach
- Globe Unity (SABA, 1967)
- The Living Music (Quasar, 1969)
- Globe Unity 67 & 70 (Atavistic, 2001)
- Globe Unity 40 Years (Intakt, 2007)
- Blue Hawk (Jazzwerkstatt, 2011)
- Globe Unity 50 Years (Intakt, 2018)
With others
- Peter Brotzmann, In a State of Undress (FMP, 1989)
- Don Cherry, Actions (Philips, 1971)
- Graham Collier, Hoarded Dreams (Cuneiform, 2007)
- Wolfgang Dauner, 80 Jahre Das Jubilaumskonzert (Timba, 2017)
- Miles Davis & Quincy Jones, Live at Montreux (Warner 1991)
- Gabi Delgado-López, Mistress (Virgin, 1982)
- Dissidenten, Instinctive Traveler (Exil, 1997)
- Stan Getz, Francy Boland, Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band, Change of Scenes (Verve, 1971)
- Albert Mangelsdorff, Albert Mangelsdorff (Fabbri Editori, 1981)
- George Russell, Electronic Sonata for Souls Loved by Nature (Flying Dutchman, 1971)
- Gunter Sommer, Le Piccole Cose Live at Theater Gutersloh (Intuition, 2017)
- Gunter Baby Sommer, Peitzer Grand Mit Vieren (Jazzwerkstatt, 2009)
- Heiner Stadler, Retrospection (Tomato, 1989)
- Fredy Studer, Christy Doran, Half a Lifetime (Unit, 1994)
- Mal Waldron, Hard Talk (Enja, 1974)
- Mal Waldron, One-Upmanship (Enja, 1977)
- Bernd Alois Zimmermann, Requiem fur Einen Jungen Dichter (Wergo, 1989)
- Tony Oxley Quintet, Angular Apron (Corbett vs. Dempsey, 2024)
