Maarten van Regteren Altena (born January 22, 1943) is a Dutch composer and contrabassist.

[1] Altena attended the Conservatorium van Amsterdam[2] (he studied contrabass) and graduated in 1968.

Son of the art historian Iohan Quirijn van Regteren Altena, Altena first recorded with Theo Loevendie, after which he had the opportunity to be part of Marion Brown's trio that recorded Porto Novo along with Han Bennink.

[2] After graduation, Altena played in a number of ensembles, such as various formations around Willem Breuker and Theo Loevendie.

In 1978 Altena received the Wessel Ilcken Prize for jazz and improvised music.