Br?tzmann unleashed
Peter Brötzmann’s name will always be associated with 1968’s “Machine Gun,” a bombast-for-bombast’s-sake exercise that is so aggressive it is nearly unlistenable. The free-jazz saxophonist has recorded prolifically since then, but his output had dropped off lately. Now Brötzmann is back with a vengeance - and bunch of new CDs.
The shock of “Born Broke” (Atavistic), a double-disc set of duets with drummer Peeter Uuskyla, is in the absence
of shock. It’s doubtful that Brötzmann, 67, has mellowed with age, but this session is remarkably tempered and wide-ranging. It also reminds us that there is structure beneath all the wailing.
Same goes for “Only the Devil Has No Dreams” (JazzWerkstatt), a trio outing with two other saxophonists, Mats Gustafsson and Ken Vandermark. Don’t expect a tripled-barraged assault; their performance is a nuanced conversation. “Full Blast” (JazzWerkstatt) is closer to mainstream Brötzmann fare. The all-out energy of the saxophonist playing with electric bassist Marino Pliakas and drummer Michael Wërtmuller picks up where Brötzmann’s free-jazz-metal supergroup Last Exit left off 15 years ago.
Speaking of Last Exit, JazzWerkstatt has put out “Low Life/Last Exit,” two screaming albums on one disc: “Low Life,” Brotzmann’s 1987 duets with electric bassist Bill Laswell, and Last Exit’s 1986 concert “Koln.” Coincidentally, Downtown Music Gallery - the venerable New York record store - has released on its own label a furious Last Exit concert recording called “Headfirst Into the Flames.”
Finally, Brötzmann’s piece de resistance: the phenomenon Die Like a Dog quartet, featuring trumpeter Toshinori Kondo, bassist William Parker, and drummer Hamid Drake. The group’s recordings have been frustratingly difficult to find, but JazzWerkstatt has assembled the best in a four-disc set, “Die Like a Dog: The Complete FMP Recordings.” [Steve Greenlee]
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