My first album with Brötzmann. As I’m continuing my explorations into the avant-garde the prospect of dipping my toes into the work of Brötzmann was appealing but a bit daunting. Not entirely a given, cause my impression is that he was maybe a bit too harsh a player for me to fully appreciate, but this particular album showed a quite accessible side of him. I haven’t listen much to his other stuff yet, but maybe I can find a similar approach on other albums.
This session was recorded in 1980 in Berlin. The sound is very organic and natural, very earthy. I love that. The trio on this is Brötzmann (alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, E♭ clarinet, tárogató), Harry Miller (double bass) and Louis Moholo (drums). Brötzmann mixes fiery clusters of furious notes with more accessible passages and an amazing explorative approach. Definitely a master of the free. The contributions of Miller and Moholo, both from South Africa, are immense. They play so rhythmically interesting parts and create so many different moods that it will take repeated listening to fully grasp. That’s the thing though, you want to listen again and again to this music to see what else you might find.