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For more than thirty years, saxophonist
Peter Brotzmann has been one of Europe's strongest free jazz exponents. He created the
Die Like A Dog Quartet in 1993 to honor the late saxophonist
Albert Ayler. In an interview included in the CD liners of the group's newest release,
Aoyama Crows,
Brotzmann discusses his goal of capturing the honesty, spirituality and directness of Ayler.
Also in the quartet are trumpeter Toshinori Kondo, the powerful bassist William Parker and master drummer Hamid Drake. The new album includes three long pieces and a short closing piece. Brotzmann plays sax and clarinet on the 28-minute long first tune. Toshinori Kondo's electric trumpet solos are amongst the highlights of the tune. He plays some echoey solos over pulsing bass and pounding drums; at times his playing sounds very guitar-like. Portions of the piece have some of the sonic excitement of Miles Davis's early 1970s electric period. The first tune segues into the more intense fifteen-minute long second piece, which features some screaming sax and whispery, fast squeaking from the electric trumpet.
The sound changes on the 23-minute long third piece as Brotzmann switches to the tarogato (which is basically a wooden saxophone). He plays over Parker's bowed bass and the pulsing rhythm of Hamid Drake's hand drumming. (Drake switches back to trap drums in the middle.) Drake's playing is another highlight throughout the CD. He can play free or deep inside a groove and is a master of polyphonic swing and African rhythms.
All told, it seems to me that Brotzmann has managed to carry on the legacy of Ayler in his own voice. An exciting record!
Peter Brötzmann - Die Like A Dog Quartet:
Aoyama Crows (FMP)
Release Date:
26 Feb 2002
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last update 16 April 2003