Peter Brötzmann

Biography

Born Remscheid, Germany on 6 March 1941; soprano, alto, tenor, baritone and bass saxophones, a-clarinet, e-flat clarinet; bass clarinet, tarogato.

Peter Brötzmann's early interest was in painting and he attended the art academy in Wuppertal. Being very dissatisfied with the gallery/exhibition situation in art he found greater satisfaction playing with semi-professional musicians, though continued to paint (as well as retaining a level of control over his own records, particularly in record sleeve/CD booklet design). In late 2005 he had a major retrospective exhibition jointly with Han Bennink - two separate buildings separated by an inter-connecting glass corridor - in Brötzmann's home town of Remscheid.

Self-taught on clarinets, he soon moved to saxophones and began playing swing/bebop, before meeting Peter Kowald. During 1962/63 Brötzmann, Kowald and various drummers played regularly - Mingus, Ornette Coleman, etc. - while experiencing freedoms from a different perspective via Stockhausen, Nam June Paik, David Tudor and John Cage. In the mid 1960s, he played with American musicians such as Don Cherry and Steve Lacy and, following a sojourn in Paris with Don Cherry, returned to Germany for his unorthodox approach to be accepted by local musicians like Alex von Schlippenbach and Manfred Schoof.

The trio of Peter Brötzmann, Peter Kowald and Sven-Ake Johansson began playing in 1965/66 and it was a combination of this and the Schoof/Schlippenbach Quintet that gave rise to the first Globe Unity Orchestra. Following the self-production of his first two LPs, For Adolphe Sax and Machine gun for his private label, BRÖ, a recording for Manfred Eicher's 'Jazz by Post' (JAPO) [Nipples], and a number of concert recordings with different sized groups, Brötzmann worked with Jost Gebers and started the FMP label. He also began to work more regularly with Dutch musicians, forming a trio briefly with Willem Breuker and Han Bennink before the long-lasting group with Han Bennink and Fred Van Hove. As a trio, and augmented with other musicians who could stand the pace (e.g. Albert Mangelsdorff on, for example, The Berlin concert), this lasted until the mid-1970s though Brötzmann and Bennink continued to play and record as a duo, and in other combinations, after this time. A group with Harry Miller and Louis Moholo continued the trio format though was cut short by Miller's early death.

The thirty-plus years of playing and recording free jazz and improvised music have produced, even on just recorded evidence, a list of associates and one-off combinations that include just about all the major figures in this genre: Derek Bailey (including performances with Company (e.g. Incus 51), Cecil Taylor, Fred Hopkins, Rashied Ali, Evan Parker, Keiji Haino, Misha Mengelberg, Anthony Braxton, Marilyn Crispell, Andrew Cyrille, Phil Minton, Alfred 23 Harth, Tony Oxley. Always characterised as an energy player - and the power-rock setting of Last Exit with Ronald Shannon Jackson, Sonny Sharock and Bill Laswell, or his duo performances with his son, Casper, did little to disperse this conviction - his sound is one of the most distinctive, life-affirming and joyous in all music. But the variety of Brötzmann's playing and projects is less recognised: his range of solo performances; his medium-to-large groups and, in spite of much ad hoc work, a stability brought about from a corpus of like- minded musicians: the group Ruf der Heimat; pianist Borah Bergman; percussionist Hamid Drake; and Die like a dog, his continuing tribute to Albert Ayler, with Drake, William Parker and Toshinori Kondo. Peter Brötzmann continues a heavy touring schedule which, since 1996 has seen annual visits to Japan and semi-annual visits to the thriving Chicago scene where he has played in various combinations from solo through duo (including one, in 1997, with Mats Gustafsson) to large groups such as the Chicago Octet/Tentet, described below. He has also released a number of CDs on the Chicago-based Okka Disk label, including the excellent trio with Hamid Drake and the Moroccan Mahmoud Gania, at times sounding like some distant muezzin calling the faithful to become lost in the rhythm and power of the music.

The "Chicago Tentet" was first organized by Brötzmann with the assistance of writer/presenter John Corbett in January 1997 as an idea for a one-time octet performance that included Hamid Drake and Michael Zerang (drums), Kent Kessler (bass) and Fred Lomberg-Holm (cello), Ken Vandermark and Mars Williams (reeds), and Jeb Bishop (trombone). The first meeting was extremely strong and warranted making the group an ongoing concern and in September of that same year the band was expanded to include Mats Gustafsson (reeds) and Joe McPhee (brass) as permanent members (with guest appearances by William Parker (bass), Toshinori Kondo (trumpet/electronics), and Roy Campbell (trumpet) during its tenure) - all in all a veritable who's who of the contemporary improvising scene's cutting edge. Though the Tentet is clearly led by Brötzmann and guided by his aesthetics, he has been committed to utilizing the compositions of other members in the ensemble since the beginning. This has allowed the band to explore an large range of structural and improvising tactics: from the conductions of Mats Gustafsson and Fred Lonberg-Holm, to the vamp pieces of Michael Zerang and Hamid Drake, to compositions using conventional notation by Ken Vandermark and Mars Williams, to Brötzmann's graphic scores - the group employs almost every contemporary approach to composing for an improvising unit. This diversity in compositional style, plus the variety in individualistic approaches to improvisation, allows the Tentet to play extremely multifaceted music. As the band moves from piece to piece, it explores intensities that range from spare introspection to all out walls of sound, and rhythms that are open or free from a steady pulse to those of a heavy hitting groove. It is clear that the difficult economics of running a large band hasn't prevented the group from continuing to work together since its first meeting. Through their effort they've been able to develop an ensemble sound and depth of communication hard to find in a band of any size or style currently playing on the contemporary music scene.

Further information

Rouy, Gèrard (2001). Interview with Peter Brötzmann available on this site.
Brötzmann, Peter (2003), The inexplicable flyswatter: works on paper 1959-1964. Unheard Music Series. 48 pages. Corbett, John (1994), Machine gun etiquette, in Extended play: sounding off from John Cage to Dr. Funkenstein. Duke University Press, 0 8223 1473 8. pp. 246-259.
Corbett vs. Dempsey (2007), Brötzmann Paintings & Objects catalogue.
Edel-Rosnes, Gudrun (1995), Nar det later runt, starkt och skont - da tycker jag om det, Granslost, no. 1, (May), pp. 12-16, 50. In Swedish; including complete discography at early 1995.
Lake, Steve (1986), Last Exit: the living end. Wire, no. 29, (July), pp. 22-23, 25.
Loewy, Steven A. (1999), Leader of the pack: Peter Brötzmann unmasked. Coda, no. 284, (March/April), pp. 8-14 (includes two pages of reviews by James Hale).
Ohshima, Kouichi (1997), Peter Brötzmann discography. Improvised Company, Japan. Rusch, Bob (1999), Peter Brötzmann interview. Cadence, vol. 25, no. 2, (February), pp. 5-7.
Peterson, Lloyd (2006), Music and the creative spirit, Scarecrow Press, pp. 29-33, 43-55.

Recordings

For 1995 discography, see Edel-Rosnes, above; for 1997 discography, see Ohshima above.

Brötzmann/van Hove/Bennink group

1968, Machine gun, BRÖ 2/FMP CD24. Actually the Peter Brötzmann Octet, formed and recorded before the trio was formed but comprising the three members and stylistically connected to the trio's music.

1968, The complete machine gun sessions, ALP262CD. Peter Brötzmann Octet.

1968/1970, Fuck de Boere, UMS/ALP211CD. Peter Brötzmann Nonet/Group.

1969, International Holy Hill jazz meeting, Meno-Lichtenstein-&-CB 6769. Includes one track of the Peter Brötzmann Octet.

1969, Nipples, Calig CAL 30604/UMS/ALP205CD.

1969, More Nipples, UMS/ALP236CD. Quartet + Sextet

1970, Balls, FMP 0020.

1970, Balls, UMS/ALP233CD. Includes two previously unreleased tracks.

1970, Born free, Scout Records ScS 11. One track on festival album.

1971, The Berlin concert, FMP CD34/35. With Albert Mangelsdorff.

1971, International New Jazz Meeting auf Burg Altena, JG Records JG 027/028S. Includes one track of the Peter Brötzmann Trio.

1972, Free jazz und kinder, FMP S1/2.

1972, For example, FMP R123. One track with Albert Mangelsdorff on commemorative/compilation 3LP set.

1973, Brötzmann, van Hove, Bennink, FMP 0130/Atavistic Unheard Music Series UMS/ALP244CD.

1974, Outspan no. 1, FMP 0180. With Albert Mangelsdorff.

1974, Outspan no. 2, FMP 0200. Including 01.49 of Backstreet girl by Mick Jagger and Keith Richard

1975, Tschus, FMP 0230.

Brötzmann/Bennink duo

1977, Ein halber hund kann nicht pinkeln, FMP 0420.

1977, Schwarzwaldfahrt, FMP 0440.

1977, Schwarzwaldfahrt, Atavistic Unheard Music Series UMS/ALP254CD. Re-issue of FMP 0440 with additional material.

1977, Total Music Meeting 1977 Berlin, BRÖ-B.

1979, 3 points and a mountain, FMP 0670. With Misha Mengelberg.

1979, 3 points and a mountain... plus, FMP CD 107. With Misha Mengelberg.

1979, Han Bennink, Musica Jazz MJCD 1162. One Brötzmann/Mengelberg/Bennink track on this HB compilation CD.

1980, Atsugi concert, GuA-Bungue GBLP 3381.01.

2004, Eye & ear: artist <-> musician, Atavistic ALP176CD. One track on compilation CD.

2004, Still quite popular after all those years, BRÖ 4.

2006, in Amherst 2006, BRÖ-C.

Brötzmann/Miller/Moholo trio

1979, The nearer the bone, the sweeter the meat, FMP 0690.

1980, Opened, but hardly touched, FMP 0840/50.

1980, Improvisation 2, DIW 405. Single track on compilation CD.

1981, Alarm, FMP 1030/Atavistic Unheard Music Series UMS/ALP257CD. With Toshinori Kondo, Johannes Bauer, Willem Breuker, Frank Wright, Alex von Schlippenbach, Harry Miller and Louis Moholo.

Solo

1976, Solo, FMP 0360.

1984, 14 love poems, FMP 1060.

1984, 14 love poems plus 10 more: dedicated to Kenneth Patchen, FMP CD 125.

1990, No nothing, FMP CD32.

1994, Nothing to say, FMP CD73.

2000, Right as rain, FMP CD112.

The Chicago Octet/Tentet

1997, The Chicago Octet/Tentet, Okka disk OD12022.

1999, Stone/Water, Okka disk OD12032 (CD)/ODL12032 (limited edition vinyl). The Chicago Tentet.

2000, Broken English, Okka disk OD12043. The Chicago Tentet Plus Two.

2000, Short visit to nowhere, Okka disk OD12044. The Chicago Tentet Plus Two.

2000, Two lightboxes, Locust 53. The Peter Brötzmann Tentet Plus Two + The Come Sunday Ensemble.

2002/2003, Images, Okka disk OD12047. The Chicago Tentet.

2002/2003, Signs, Okka disk OD12048. The Chicago Tentet.

2004, Be music, night, Okka disk OD12059. The Chicago Tentet featuring Mike Pearson. Also issued on Jazzwerkstatt JW 002.

2006, American landscapes 1, Okka disk OD12067. The Chicago Tentet.

2006, American landscapes 2, Okka disk OD12068. The Chicago Tentet.

2007, At Molde 2007 (10 years 10tet), Okka disk OD12072. The Chicago Tentet.

Appearances with US musicians

1982, Andrew Cyrille meets Brötzmann in Berlin, FMP 1000.

1984, Look at the music, Olof Bright OBCD09. Track with Butch Morris and Garrett List on compilation CD.

1986, Olu Iwa, Soul Note 121139-2. As part of Cecil Taylor Group.

1991, Songlines, FMP CD53. With Fred Hopkins and Rashied Ali.

1992, Sacred scrape/Secret response, Rastascan BRD 015. With Greg Bendian and William Parker.

1992, Hyperion, Music and Arts CD-852. Trio with Marilyn Crispell and Hamid Drake.

1993, Die like a dog; fragments of music, life and death of Albert Ayler, FMP CD64.

1994, The dried rat-dog, Okka disk OD12004. Duo with Hamid Drake.

1995, Ride into the blue, Konnex KCD 5069. With Borah Bergmann/Thomas Borgmann.

1996, Blue zoo, Konnex KCD 5074. With Borah Bergmann/Thomas Borgmann.

1996, Eight by three, Mixtery M00001. With Borah Bergmann/Anthony Braxton.

1996, The Wels concert, Okka disk OD12013. With Hamid Drake and Mahmoud Gania.

1996/1997, Exhilaration, Soul Note 121330. With Borah Bergmann/Andrew Cyrille.

1997, Little birds have fast hearts No. 1, FMP CD97. Die like a dog Quartet.

1997, Little birds have fast hearts No. 2, FMP CD101. Die like a dog Quartet.

1997, The Cooler suite, GROB 539. Borgmann/Brötzmann/Parker/Bakr.

1998, The Atlanta concert, Okka disk ODL10006. Brötzmann/Drake/Hopkins. Released as LP only.

1998, Live at The Empty Bottle, Okka disk ODL10005. Brötzmann/Drake/Kessler.

1998, From valley to valley, Eremite MTE018. Die like a dog Quartet.

1999, Aoyama crows, FMP CD118. Die like a dog Quartet.

2001?, Inside out in the open, ESP - Disk 4042. DVD by Alan Roth.

2001, Never too late but always too early: dedicated to Peter Kowald, Eremite MTE037/38. Brötzmann/Parker/Drake.

2001, Northung, in Tone CD 5. Brötzmann/Parker/Wertmüller.

2002, The ink is gone, BRÖ 3. Peter Brötzmann/Walter Perkins.

2002, Live at Spruce Street Forum, Botticelli 1015. Peter Brötzmann/Lisle Ellis/Marco Eneidi/Jackson Krall.

2002, Tales out of time, HatOLOGY 589. Peter Brötzmann/Joe McPhee/Kent Kessler/Michael Zerang.

2003, The Bishop's move, Victo cd 093. Evan Parker Trio & Peter Brötzmann Trio.

2003, No one ever works alone, Okka disk OD12053. Sonore.

2005, Live at the 'Bottle' Fest 2005, BRÖ A. Duo with Nasheet Waits.

2005, Live in Beirut, Al Maslakh Recordings MSLKH CD 03. Duo with Michael Zerang.

2005, Guts, Okka disk OD12062. McPhee/Brötzmann/Kessler/Zerang.

2006, Only the devil has no dreams Jazzwerkstatt JW013. Sonore.

Last Exit

1986, Last Exit, Enemy 101.

1986, Köln, ITM 1446/Atavistic Unheard Music Series UMS/ALP252CD.

1986, The noise of trouble, Enemy 103.

1986/87, Low life/Last Exit Jazzwerkstatt JW012. Reissue of duo with Bill Laswell/Last Exit's Köln.

1987, Low life, Celluloid CELL 5016. With Bill Laswell.

1987, Cassette recordings '87, Celluloid CELD 6140.

1986/87, Best Of live, Enemy EMCD 110.

1988, Iron path, Virgin 91015.

1989, Headfirst into the flames, MuWorks MUW 1013/DMG ARC 0701.

1989, Fragments, Okka Disk ODL10010. Sharrock/Brötzmann.

1990, Live at the Knitting Factory volume 4, Knitting Factory Works KFW 100.

Miscellaneous aggregations and shorter-lived groupings

1965, The inexplicable flyswatter: works on paper 1959-1964, Unheard Music Series. Includes enhanced CD with two audio tracks.

1967, For Adolphe Sax, BRÖ 1/FMP 0080. Brötzmann/Kowald/Johansson.

1967, For Adolphe Sax, UMS/ALP230CD. As BRÖ 1/FMP 0080 with extra track.

1967, Usable past, Olof Bright OBLP 1. Brötzmann/Kowald/Johansson.

1969, The living music, FMP 0100/UMS/ALP231CD. Alex von Schlippenbach group.

1971, Actions, Philips 6305 153. Don Cherry/The New Eternal Rhythm Orchestra.

1971, Actions, Intuition INT 3606-2. Don Cherry/Krzysztof Penderecki. CD issue of previous item.

1973, For example, FMP R123. Two orchestra tracks (Globe Unity and ICP-Tentet) on commemorative/compilation 3LP set.

1980, The family, FMP 0940. The 'Wuppertal Workshop Ensemble'.

1980, Brötzmann/Kellers, FMP 0800.

1982, Pica pica, FMP 1050/Atavistic Unheard Music Series UMS/ALP258CD. With Albert Mangelsdorff and Günter Sommer.

1982, Sabu-Brötzmann duo, Improvised Company CD001.

1984, Berlin Djungle, FMP 1120/Atavistic Unheard Music Series UMS/ALP246CD. Peter Brötzmann Clarinet Project.

1983, Trios, Incus 51. Company.

1984/1985, The Berlin Station, FMP SAJ 57. Two trios with Phil Minton and: Michel Waiswisz/Hugh Davies.

1986, Trollymog FMP 1260/FMP CD21. Duo with Peter Kowald.

1987, Go-No-Go, FMP 1150. Peter Brötzmann/Alfred 23 Harth.

1987, No material, ITM 1435. With Ginger Baker and Sonny Sharrock.

1987, Live in Okayama 1987, Improvised Company CD002. Derek Bailey/Sabu Toyozumi/Peter Brötzmann.

1988, Reserve, FMP CD17.

1989, Wie das leben so spielt, FMP CD22.

1989, In a state of undress, FMP 1250. With Willi Kellers, Manfred Schoof and Jay Oliver.

1990, Last home, Pathological PATH04. Father and son.

1991 Funny rat EGG 89002 (Cassette). Brötzmann/Hano.

1991 Funny rat Improvised Music from Japan IMJ-512. Brötzmann/Hano; one extra track from cassette release.

1991, Dare devil, DIW 857. With Haruhiko Gotsu, Tetsu Yahauchi and Shoji Hano.

1992, The März combo, FMP CD47.

1993 Vier tiere Clockwise 0010. Brötzmann/Issoh/Kawabata/Furusawa.

1994, Untitled, Blast First BFFP107. Compilation concert CD.

1995, Machine kaput, Konnex KCD 5070. With Ruf der Heimat.

1996, Evolving blush or Driving original sin, PSFD-79. Duo with Keiji Haino.

1996, Double agent(s), Locus Solus LSR 002. Charles Hayward; duo plus trio with Keiji Haino.

1996 Sprawl Trost TR 070.

1996 One night in Burmantofts Bo'Weavil Weavil 27CD. Brötzmann/Wilkinson Quartet.

1997 Stalker songs CIMP 160. With Thomas Borgmann Trio.

1997, The Wild Mans Band, Ninth World Music NWM 013.

1998 Neurotransmitter double moon Records DMCD 1006. With Achim Jaroschek.

1998, Invisible touch Cadence CJR 1099. Duo with Frode Gjerstad.

1999 Noise of wings Slask Records SLACD 019. With Peeter Uuskyla and Peter Friis Nielsen.

1999 Live at Nefertiti Ayler Records aylCD-004. With Peeter Uuskyla and Peter Friis Nielsen.

1999, Three rocks and a pine, Ninth World Music NWM 020. The Wild Mans Band + Mats Gustafsson.

1999, Fryed fruit, Red Toucan RT 9316. Yudanov/Brötzmann/Sakari.

1999 Subtle twister Konnex Records KCD5093. With Achim Jaroschek.

2000, Shadows, DIW 938. With Keiji Haino and Shoji Hano.

2000, Improvised music from Japan IMJ-10CD. Three trio tracks on this 10-CD set with Shoji Hano and Werner Lüdi.

2001 Flying feathers FMR CD91-i0402. With Peeter Uuskyla and Peter Friis Nielsen.

2001, Sharp knives cut deeper, Splasc(H) CDH 850.2. Frode Gjerstad Trio with Øyvind Storesund and Paal Nilssen-Love plus Peter Brötzmann.

2001, The darkest river, Ninth World Music NWM 027. The Wild Mans Band + Pierre Dørge.

2002, Danquah circle, Konnex KCD 5127. Trio with Dieter Manderscheid and Frank Samba.

2002, Petroglyphs, Long Arms Records CDLA 04051. Solo and with Ed Sivkov/Nick Rubanov.

2003, Soria Moria, FMR CD126-i0603. Peter Brötzmann/Frode Gjerstad.

2003, Medicina Atavistic ALP149CD. With Peeter Uuskyla and Peter Friis Nielsen.

2005, Malamute Kilogram Records 011. With Mikolaj Trzaska, Peeter Uuskyla and Peter Friis Nielsen.

2005, No hard feelings: for Steve Lacy Corbett vs. Dempsey CvsD 0009. Duo with Tom Raworth.

2006, Full blast Jazzwerkstatt JW001. Peter Brötzmann/Marino Pliakas/Michael Wertmüller.

2006, Born broke Atavistic ALP185CD. Duo with Peeter Uuskyla.

2007, Farewell, bootleg. Brötzmann/Pliakas/Wertmüller.

As sideman (!) or contributor

1967/70, Globe Unity 67 & 70, Atavistic/Unheard Music Series. Globe Unity Orchestra.

1969, European echoes, FMP 0010/UMS/ALP232CD. Manfred Schoof.

1970, Groupcomposing, ICP 006.

1973, Live in Wuppertal, FMP 0160. Globe Unity Orchestra.

1974, Hamburg '74, FMP 0650/Atavistic Unheard Music Series UMS/ALP248CD. Globe Unity Orchestra.

1976, Unlawful noise, KGB 7076. Kees Hazevoet/Haazz & Company.

1976, Unlawful noise, UMS/ALP219CD. Kees Hazevoet/Haazz & Company.

1977, In Berlin FMP SAJ-23. ICP Tentet.

1977, Tetterettet ICP 020. Instant Composers Pool Tentet.

1980, Study II/Stringer, Intakt CD095. London Jazz Composers Orchestra.

1982, Japan Japon IMA 1/ICP 024/DIW 1014. Misha Mengelberg and ICP Orchestra. Also issued on DIW 454 CD with two additional tracks.

1987/88, Hörstücke ECM 1452-54. Heiner Goebbels.

1988, Alms/Tiergarten (Spree) FMP CD 8/9. Cecil Taylor European Orchestra.

1988, Kisses, ITM 1430. With group Das Pferd.

1990, Neils & the New York street percussionists, ITM 1453.

1991, Visions & blueprints, No wave NWCD 2. With B-shops for the poor.

1992, Expo's jazz & joy, Call it anything/VeraBra 2122 2. Free jazz/hip-hop/rap.

1996, Orchester 33^1/3, pdn 006/RHIZ 000.

2002, Globe Unity 2002, Intakt CD 086. Globe Unity Orchestra.