clifford_thornton Posted April 11, 2011 Report Posted April 11, 2011 Good news! I've been looking for the LP for ages. Quote
Alexander Hawkins Posted April 12, 2011 Report Posted April 12, 2011 In case anyone is going to the London show on Wednesday 20 at Cafe Oto, Brotzmann will be doing an onstage interview with Jez Nelson from Jazz on 3 at 6.30pm...should be fascinating! Quote
mjazzg Posted April 12, 2011 Report Posted April 12, 2011 In case anyone is going to the London show on Wednesday 20 at Cafe Oto, Brotzmann will be doing an onstage interview with Jez Nelson from Jazz on 3 at 6.30pm...should be fascinating! see you there with a bit of luck. Definitely be there for that night's concert Quote
David Ayers Posted April 24, 2011 Report Posted April 24, 2011 So did you guys catch PB in Zurich or London and what line-ups did you see? I was at the Tuesday 19th gig in London. They presented two subgroups - brass quartet and cello/drums (Nilssen-Love). I was already a huge fan of these musicians and I was very excited about the whole thing. For the record, the musicians with Brotzmann were: Joe McPhee (Pocket Trumpet/Reeds) Mats Gustafsson (Reeds) Ken Vandermark (Reeds) Paal Nilssen-Love (Drums/Percussion) Fred Lonberg-Holm (Cello) Per Åke Holmlander (Tuba) Johannes Andreas Bauer (Trombone) Michael Zerang (Drums/Percussion) Kent Kessler (Bass) Jeb Bishop (Trombone) Quote
king ubu Posted April 24, 2011 Report Posted April 24, 2011 Caught them in Zurich. Two blazing, amazing sets - my head was spinning and my ears bleeding for a whole day... Brötzmann played alto, tenor and taragato. McPhee played pocket trumpet and some fine alto (him and Brötz did an alto duel in the second set). Gustafsson was mostly on baritone, solid but rarely exciting, and at the end he also played his fluteophone. Vandermark was surprisingly good on tenor as well as clarinet (I'm no big fan). Holmlander (who was plain amazing all the way through) also played the cimbasso. The drumming of Nilssen-Love was outstanding (so good to have him instead of Hamid Drake, sorry to say), and so was the trombone playing of Jeb Bishop - what force (they played unamplified, except for the bass and cello). Also it was amazing how McPhee could project through this massive wall of sound... Quote
David Ayers Posted April 24, 2011 Report Posted April 24, 2011 Very similar array of instruments in London (including the cimbasso). A blazing gig and also a very generous one. Quote
king ubu Posted April 24, 2011 Report Posted April 24, 2011 I wanted to do a little write-up but didn't feel like doing it under the immediate impression, which was enormous! Also bought the "3 Nights in Oslo" set at the concert, but haven't started playing. To warm up, I listened to the whole "Chicago Octet/Tentet" Okka-set the afternoon before the concert Quote
mjazzg Posted April 24, 2011 Report Posted April 24, 2011 I saw the wednesday night London gig. Same line-up as tuesday, unsurprisingly. First set was intensely powerful sax/clarinet trio of PB, Vandermark and Gustaffsson Second set was lovely palate cleanser - Kent Kessler solo bass Third set - Tentet. Exceeded all my high expectations. Such an array of musicianship in pay to the collective. Almost unfair to pick out individulas but McPhee's pocket trumpet was revelatory, Zerang's drumming so tuneful and musical. Bauer's humour and enthusiasm infectious. PB's sheer musical presence to be remembered for a very long time. I haven't dared listen to anything by the group since so as not to break the spell! Quote
David Ayers Posted April 24, 2011 Report Posted April 24, 2011 Since I got back I have been playing the Sonore recordings (Sonore is Brotzmann/Gustafsson/Vandermark). I have got 'Only the Devil has no Dreams' (Jazzwerkstat) and 'Call Before you Dig' (Okka). I especially like the former. I find it easier to understand the performance dynamic between them having seen them together (even if not as a trio but in the context of the tentet). I've also been thinking about how things have come along musically since the earlier days of Brotzmann and McPhee... Quote
mjazzg Posted April 24, 2011 Report Posted April 24, 2011 another perspective on wednesday night here http://www.theliminal.co.uk/2011/04/peter-brotzmanns-chicago-tentet-at-cafe-oto/ The eleven person tentet had my friend and I completely bewildered as we waited for the start trying to name who would be playing and never making ten! PB and his Chicago Tentet, perhaps Quote
king ubu Posted April 24, 2011 Report Posted April 24, 2011 Well, it should be billed as the "Chicago Tentet + 1" correctly. Blame the organizer for that! +1 is Bauer, the most recent addition to the band. And yes, Zerang's drumming is very tuneful and musical! was rather unfair only singling out Nilssen-Love above, but he was so amazingly powerful! Bauer, too... he's a weirdo and probably the biggest fan of the other guys, too... but his playing was fine. In the Zurich concert though, Jeb Bishop was outstanding! They had a little 'bone trio once, with Holmlander on that weirdo thing - magic! What struck me as most amazing is the degree of musicality you get to hear within all this messy, blaringly loud music - even when they are all on fire, and all playing simultaneously, you get all these little shifts, duos and trios within the whole group building... I bet it helps a lot that they play acoustically and are hence free to move around! Was that the case at the concerts you guys saw, too? No mics except for the tuba, and a pair of amps for cello and bass - but besides that, just purely acoustic sounds? Quote
David Ayers Posted April 24, 2011 Report Posted April 24, 2011 (edited) Yeah no mics except for bass/cello (oh maybe tuba not sure). I agree with all your observations about mobility, dropping in/out, looking for ways to fit in or steer, spontaneously shifting dominant voice/s. I was really excited to hear PN-L for the fist time in person, and in the context of a duo with cello+electronics where the cello served more as ambience than solo line, if you get me - reminiscent of a 'Stalk' with Lasse Marhaug and PN-L (if you know that one). Just burning. So Nilssen-Love is uppermost for me on account of sitting three meters from him during that duet and through the whole concert. McPhee is a friend of the people I was with and we had a long talk with him which added to an amazing evening. I love Bauer by the way and was talking with him - a *great* contributor and the night I was there not only fantastic in the brass quartet but also outstanding in the tentet, not least for a wonderful duet with the superlative Jeb Bishop. The whole thing was just the top of what you can hear anywhere. And they have many gigs to go (next Wuppertal I think they said) so don't miss out! Edited April 24, 2011 by David Ayers Quote
mjazzg Posted April 24, 2011 Report Posted April 24, 2011 (edited) Mic set up same on Wednesday except that the concert was recorded by BBC for broadcast (along with the interview with PB and Vandermark) - can't remember when they said this would be. I was struck by how seemingly 'small' contributions by single ensemble members suddenly came through the overall sound. Kessler played a short descending four-note riff three or four times at smaller intervals in one piece and its simplicity leapt across the stage even when most of the others were playing. Longberg-Holm's occasional pizzi found a route through the louder sections. As I've said before, Zerang managed this throughout the show. PNL's indeed phenomenal but having seen him more than several times in duos, trios, quartets etc he was less of a surprise package to me - he did what he always does Edited April 24, 2011 by mjazzg Quote
mjazzg Posted April 24, 2011 Report Posted April 24, 2011 seems like everone was impressed http://londonjazz.blogspot.com/2011/04/review-peter-brotzmann-chicago-tentet.html Quote
king ubu Posted April 24, 2011 Report Posted April 24, 2011 Yeah! Hopefully that Beeb thingie will be out there soon! Great to know! Wuppertal is too far for me to attend, but a friend who was here in Zurich (and lives in Germany) will go there, too. I tried to talk to McPhee quickly, but he wasn't interested much, alas... just shook hands, told him how great it was for me to see him live and all that, and he replied - kindly so - that he had enjoyed playing the concert a lot, too... but that, alas, was it). Quote
David Ayers Posted April 27, 2011 Report Posted April 27, 2011 Financial Times review Amplified viola?? Thanks for the link. Quote
David Ayers Posted April 28, 2011 Report Posted April 28, 2011 This 2009 version of the tentet is missing Gustafsson but adds Conny Bauer as third trombone! (good to take precautions - I mean, you know, what if the other two trombonists suddenly got ill, and then...) Quote
mike casinghino Posted April 29, 2011 Report Posted April 29, 2011 saw p. brotzmann a number of years ago, when eremite records was doing their concert thing,at the unitarian meeting house,in amherst,mass.having not really heard anything by p.b.,to that point in time,i was shocked at,imo,how bad(good) this dude was.when i want some quiet moments to contemplate life,i put on death rattle,with brotzmann and laswell.just kidding,but i am always playing it! Quote
Steve Reynolds Posted June 8, 2011 Report Posted June 8, 2011 a reminder that the big night is tonight 3 bands with Herr Brotzmann with the big one a quintet to close the night with Ken Vandermark, Mars Williams, Kent Kessler and Paal Nilsson-Love first set @ 7:00 - 466 Grand Ave, NY NY Quote
AndrewHill Posted June 8, 2011 Author Report Posted June 8, 2011 Me too. Seems like I'll have to drive at least six hours to see the man some day. Quote
PHILLYQ Posted June 9, 2011 Report Posted June 9, 2011 I was listening to WKCR in the car today and the announcer(didn't get the name) was talking about Brotzmann and said that Brotzmann was like the Goose Gossage of improvised music, he came in and went full tilt every time. Great analogy IMO. Quote
7/4 Posted June 9, 2011 Report Posted June 9, 2011 I was listening to WKCR in the car today and the announcer(didn't get the name) was talking about Brotzmann and said that Brotzmann was like the Goose Gossage of improvised music, he came in and went full tilt every time. Great analogy IMO. I heard a bit of that, great radio. (I love NYC!) Quote
WD45 Posted December 20, 2011 Report Posted December 20, 2011 Nice feature on Brotzmann in this month's Downbeat. I rarely make it to the magazine rack. I rarely pick up Downbeat. But I did, and read this yesterday. Makes me want to read a whole book about him... Quote
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