Die Soldaten
Schoof was born in Magdeburg, Germany, and studied music in Kassel and Cologne, where one of his teachers of the big band leader Kurt Edelhagen. Schoof performed on Edelhagen's radio program and toured with Gunter Hampel. In the 1960s he started a free jazz band with Alexander von Schlippenbach and Gerd Dudek which became the basis for Manfred Schoof Orchestra. From 1969–1971 he was a member of the George Russell Orchestra. He has also worked with Jasper Van't Hof and the Globe Unity Orchestra. He composed classical music for Berlin Philharmonic. He has interpreted "Die Soldaten", an operatic work by the contemporary composer Bernd Alois Zimmermann.