Peter Brotzmann

5 stars all music guide

One of the most beautiful albums ever recorded by saxophone genius Peter Brotzmann -- and maybe his first album of ballad material too!

As the title implies, the work is Brotzmann's answer to the poetry of Kenneth Patchen -- and there's certainly a poetic quality to the way that Peter lays down his improvised performances -- at a level that's subtle, sensitive, and which really seems to be opening up the way for a whole new generation of free jazz expression on the European scene -- much as the Brotzmann recordings of the late 60s opened a path for the first!

Every track features a different reed instrument -- and apart from a reading of Ornette Coleman's "Lonely Woman", all the other tracks are originals by Brotzmann -- played on a tenor sax mouthpiece, tarogato, bass clarinet, alto, baritone, e flat clarinet, and tenor.

PERSONNEL:

• Peter Brötzmann - (alto, tenor, baritone saxophone, clarinets, bass clarinet, tarogato, mouthpiece)

Recorded 21st to 23rd August 1984 in Berlin.

TRACKS:

• SIDE A
• A1. Baritone-Sax / Lonely Woman
• A2. A-Clarinet
• A3. Alto-Sax
• A4. Bass-Clarinet
• A5. A-Clarinet
• A6. Tenor-Sax
• A7. Baritone-Sax

• SIDE B
• B1. Tenor-Sax, Mouthpiece
• B2. Bass-Clarinet
• B3. Tarogato
• B4. E-Flat-Clarinet
• B5. Tenor-Sax
• B6. E-Flat-Clarinet
• B7. Tenor-Sax