Peter Brötzmann is a German saxophonist that has explored the intense & dissonant worlds of jazz. Many critics claim that his pinnacle recording was with his Octet in the 1968 session: Machine Gun. One of the most loudest, intense & just plain frighteing jazz albums of all time. Even the loudest Metal bands cannot match its cacophony.

Brötzmann has recurited two Scandinavian musicians that share the same first name for this session; though the drummer has an alternate spelling. This trio has been collaborating together since the early 90's, so they clearly comprehend the aesthetic of the free approach.

Opening the disc is Uuskyla's loose composition aptly titled: "Rocket Tango" were Uuskyla sets the track with his crisp cymbal work & jumping snare tone; this intro continues for a minute and thirty seconds, then Brötzmann enters with an explosion of wailing cries from his alto saxophone, putting the listener at risk of being knocked off their feet along with Friis Nielsen's ever rubbery electric bass patterns. The interaction continues until the last minute of the track with the tempo decreasing & just a small groove for the conclusion.

The beginning of "One, Two, Three, Free" is an exciting one, jumping among the whirling notes of the alto sax, the bass creating additional textures & the drummer simply reacting to it.

Brötzmann now engages with his tenor sax on the two following pieces: "Artemisa" & "Justicia," two swirling pieces that thrive on the trio’s conversational ethos. "Some Ghosts Step Out" is my personal favorite track for a few reasons one: Its length, two: the musicians interaction & three: Brötzmann's use of melody. He is able to conceive even the most sweetest melodies into a screech-fest of his own as exemplified on the piece, though the even more awe-inspiring part is that the melody is still recognizable!

"Here & Now" is tonal investigation among the trio. Brötzmann is now performing on alto clarinet, producing pallets of sound in an almost ballad like fashion as Friis Nielsen adds texture & color from his bass, while Uuskyla's brush work succeeds the beauty of the track.

On "Bones & Beans" Brötzmann now is producing more of an atonal pallets on his Tarogata. It isn't necessarily dissonant, but it is an instrument in the clarinet family that has yet to breach is familiarity. The final piece

"Hard Times Blues" opens with Brötzmann playing a few bars of excellent blues as the drummer follows his lead. This continues on until the bassist enters within four minutes of the piece & all breaks loose for application & interaction. Within six minutes of the piece, Brötzmann exits fora brief amount of time which allows an intriguing interaction of bass & drums. Then a minute later, Brötzmann enters with a disjointed melody and just simply wailing until both Brötzmann & Nielsen exit to allow a nice little solo section for Uuskyla until everything just simply fades out. A beautiful conclusion for one of the best releases of 2004.

Regards,

Alexander

It would be a lot easier to read, if it wasn't one long paragraph.

I have now edited it.

Are we supposed to comment on your review?

Pops has this, and a couple of the tracks stand out. I remember liking the first and last track. I don't remember right now which of the others I liked.


Peter Brotzmann has two, of what I guess you can call Peter Trio's. I think the other one goes by the name, The Wild Man's Band.


Of the 3 recordings this Peter Trio has recorded, I prefer Noise of Wings with Live At Nefertiti coming in 2nd before Medicina.


I also really don't think anyone really thinks Machine Gun is Peter Brotzmann's best recording anymore. I believe that is now considered to be, the Little Birds have Fast Hearts recordings or the Chicago Octet/Tentet 3 cd set.

That is your decision.



Correct, the one recording that features Mats Gustafsson is excellent.



Live At Nefertit is excellent.



It is really all subjective. Of course On Little Birds Have Fast Hearts & his Tenet discs, he has definetly matured & developed his tone throughout the years.

Have you heard any of Brotzmann's solo work?

Regards,

Alexander

The recording with Mats is excellent!

I agree Nefertiti is a good recording. It's a toss-up between it and Noise of Wings out of the three for that trio's best.


It is subjective, but Machine Gun really is more important for it's historic position in music. I think the live version on Fuck de Boere is actually a better version of Machine Gun.

Yeah, that version is quite fun.

Speaking of his solo recordings, have you heard the reissue of 14 Poems? It's one of his best!

I am actually going to recieve that disc for Christmas!