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brötzmann/parker/drake peter
brötzmann tenor sax, tarogato, a-clarinet disc
1 disc
2 an original architect of creative improvised music in europe, peter brötzmann is a figure of prodigious international stature & influence. now in its tenth year, brötzmann's die like a dog band is widely regarded as "one of the leading ventures in the history of avant-garde jazz" (all music guide). featuring hamid drake (drums) & william parker (bass), the group combines brötzmann's explosive "kaput music" with a spectacularly flexible rhythm section that suggests congruencies with dozens of world music traditions. a two c/d set, never too late... is die like a dog's complete concert from 10 april, 2001, in montreal, & only their second release on a north american-based label (after from valley to valley, mte-18). eremite recorded every north american performance by the group during their 2000 & 2001 tours, & never too late (dear friends) is the motherfucker of them all. cover art & liner notes --an unusually intimate remembrance of his late peer peter kowald-- by brötzmann. wire magazine #1 'jazz record,' 2003 rewind "eremite producer michael ehlers captures one of free jazz's finest trios live in concert in montreal on this stunning double c/d recording, which is --considering the prodigious output of the players-- incredibly one of the group's best on disc. peter brötzmann, william parker, & hamid drake have been playing together for years now, & there is an instinctive synergy among them that is clearly evident on every track. as with many of brötzmann's later performances there is plenty of slash 'n burn intensity but there are also many moments when brötzmann turns inward to focus on colors, shading & nuance. there are numerous highlights, from the usual thrilling over-blowing by brötzmann on all three reeds, the drake/parker collaborations when brötzmann drops out (as on the second & third parts of "never run but go," & the enlightening "the heart & the bones"), & spectacular contributions from all three as soloists & as part of the group. posthumously dedicated to peter kowald the discs represent the best of modern creative improvisation as the strategies pursued include focusing on building & releasing tension, maneuvering through complex time signatures, & generating magnificent clusters of sound that recall the best of later coltrane. the short closing number on the second disc, "half-hearted beast" is a rousing chord-based blues-drenched romp that opens the rafters & leaves the crowd screaming for more, even after two hours of nearly unadulterated intensity. almost certain to appear on many top-ten lists, never too late but always too early is brötzmann, drake, & parker at their best, & it is an important & valuable contribution to each of their discographies." --steven loewy, cadence "subsequently declared in homage to peter kowald, this catches the trio in magnificent form in montreal. two long sets have very little that once could call treading water & the potential for parker & drake to get funky is realized at several points. a high point in a prolific run of work." --cook & morton, penguin guide to jazz on c/d "homages to the late peter kowald grow more numerous, but few will match the searing, visceral pull of this two cd set etched by some of his closest friends & associates in montreal's casa del popolo in 2001 & dedicated to kowald after his death in 2002. peter brötzmann is a specter of grim emotion & raw energy, whether he's playing tarogato, tenor, or a clarinet in A. he is one of the great existential improvisers of free jazz, in that his intensity does not seem to move toward transcendence but instead speaks of expanding passion. it is because of brötzmann's emotional register that this epitaph in advance to kowald is so fitting. pain, loss, distance seem so central to the saxophonist's expression --witness the tenor dirge of part 4 of 'never run, but go' which seems to refer directly to 'taps'-- that the specific subject only awaits naming. william parker & hamid drake support, structure & alleviate brötzmann's testimony, adding & sustaining pulsing patterns that invoke african & afro-cuban ceremony. on the first segment of the title piece brötzmann launches a bass clarinet solo in which human cries are seemingly muffled in the instrument's woolly depths until they break out into screams in the middle register. parker & drake seem to ground & share in this witnessing, until parker begins an extended & especially powerful bowed solo." --stuart broomer, coda "recorded
live in montréal in the spring of 2001, this double cd,
despite being dedicated to the late peter kowald, was actually
performed before his death. the dedication is out of affection
and respect rather than something literally recorded for him. that
said, brötzmann, parker, and drake reveal in depth here just
how they have gelled as a trio. with parker employing the doussin
gouni as well as his bass, and brötzmann utilizing a taragato
and a-clarinet, this is not a skronk session, though there are
certainly elements of that, and it certainly is out in its approach.
as one would expect, the intensity level is high from the jump
as the band begins with the four-part suite "never run but
Go." brötzmann uses the clarinet like he does the tenor,
blowing not out of the instrument but completely through it, expanding
its sonic palette with blurred smattering tonal blurs that do not
reflect the instrument's soft, round, and refined tonalities. in
fact, his playing on part one, full of ribbons of legato phrases
and pulsing intervallic sequences, is reminiscent of coltrane's
soprano playing on the afro blue impressions concerts. parker matches
brötzmann, coursing a pattern of rhythmic excess that leaves
no space unfilled. this isn't about dynamics or tension, it's about
intensity and movement, and while for these three it does not run,
it certainly does go, through a series of tonal structures that
were certainly directed and purposeful. drake's rhythmic dramatics
offer the clues as he returns the signatures from 7/8 and 5/8,
moving into overdrive to 11/8 before downshifting again. "pt.
2" and "pt. 3" are all parker and drake creating
a downright funky pop and groove. parker states the line and drake
fills in with rubato and rim shots to accent the ends of parker's
lines. "pt. 3" signals brötzmann's return on the
tenor, and drake kicks it into afro-cuban gear as parker circuitously
pizzicatos his way through a machito/cachao bassline that gives
brötzmann literally everything he needs to fuse it all together
in a solo that is blistering, soulful, and wrapped around three
tonal figures that nod to both drake and parker, who don't so much
follow as extrapolate, adding shifting, broken harmonics to an
already splattered sonic canvas. disc
one closes with the gorgeous "the heart and the bones," featuring
contrapuntal designations spearheaded by drake followed by parker.
they round off the edges of opposition and eventually come close
to playing against each other, and that's where brötzmann
enters the fray, with as lyrical a statement as you are ever likely
to hear him make from the bottom register of his horn --slow, mournful,
spiritual, like albert ayler as the improvisation becomes hymn-like
for quite a while before erupting into a free for all. the three-part
title suite kicks off disc two as a slow, mournful, speculative
exercise in bass tonality, with parker bowing his instrument. brötzmann
moves from the low to middle register in elongated phrases, creating
an architectural harmonic complexity and smearing the hell out
of one- or two-note phrases. drake shimmers with a pulse on brushes,
keeping the center clean and spare. the pace picks up about six
minutes in, but the spareness of the tonal language remains the
same. brötzmann may be blowing out the inside of the horn,
but without flurries of notes, as parker walks it, filling in the
extra spaces behind his tonal investigation with pronounced, brief
staccato lines. drake switches to sticks and the band is off and
running into the unknown. by the second movement, everything is
chaotic and crazy, dark yet celebratory. The audience is screaming
for brötzmann to blow, parker is in overdrive to add a counterweight
to the flight, and drake pushes it all further, creating a tension
that seems irresolvable --and it isn't until the end of the last
movement. the concert ends with a swinging blues, "half-hearted
beast," which is literally a barroom romp for improvisers.
never has brötzmann played in such a guttural, vulgar, and
enjoyable manner, nor has parker walked his bass in such a straightforward
way --though it is far from stride walking. drake gets to play
around all over the edges of the tune, only to bring it back on
the turnarounds and carry it out into the night. a fitting end,
an amazing ride, and --dare it be said-- one of the most necessary
of the collaborations involving these three men." "it’s a marathon ride, and from brötz’s opening shrieks on tarogato you know that seatbelts should remain firmly fastened. the trio cycles through most of its moods, registers, and instrumentations throughout the long and rewarding sets: crushing funk, rolling free expressionism, muscular swing, and the occasional dark textural mood. the latter is the rarest commodity for this band, so it’s a pleasure to hear the dark melancholy that opens the second set, where brötz’s bass clarinet speaking mournfully to parker’s arco bass. and though this set slowly morphs into a more abstracted rendering of the same territory that opened the first set, drake shifts frequently into his colorist mode here, a fine reprieve from the blackwell-on-steroids grooves that tend to dominate (albeit exhilaratingly so). the second set additionally features very good, expressive bass and drum solos. and both discs are filled with the nice, harsh lyricism that distinguishes this band." --jason bivins, dustedmagazine.com "this free blowing monster of a set very nearly eclipses machine gun, brötzmann's legendary 60s big band lp." --edwin pouncey, The Wire |
