Maarten van Regteren Altena, also known as Maarten Altena, born on January 22, 1943, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, was a Dutch composer and contrabassist. He studied at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, graduating in 1968 with a focus on contrabass. After his studies, Altena began performing with various classical and jazz ensembles, including the Nederlands Ballet Orkest and jazz groups led by Marion Brown, Hans Dulfer, Theo Loevendie, Willem Breuker, and Burton Greene. In the late 1970s, he formed his own group, initially a quartet, which later expanded into the Maarten Altena Ensemble (MAE). This ensemble moved away from traditional jazz, incorporating more complex compositions with improvisational elements. Notable albums include Handicaps (1973), Tuning the Bass (1976), and PISA 1980: Improvisors’ Symposium (1981). Altena also composed works for other ensembles, such as First Floor (1989) for the Nederlands Blazers Ensemble and Puls (1993) for drummer Johan Faber. In 1978, he received the prestigious Wessel-Ilcken-Preis alongside Michel Waisvisz.
