VA - Long Story Short: Curated by Peter Brötzmann 5CD (2013) [Box Set]

Whether you have no experience with the Godfather of free jazz or you measure your Peter Brötzmann CD and LP collection in linear feet, this 5CD box curated by the German saxophonist is either a great introduction to or an affirmation of his music and influence.

Organized on the occasion of his 70th birthday, these four days of performances in November 2011, also marked the 25th anniversary of the Unlimited Festival in Wels, Austria. Brötzmann did not assemble a retrospective of his ouevre, as there were no recreations of the fabled Machine Gun (FMP, 1968) sessions, Globe Unity Orchestra, or Last Exit band (having said farewell to Sonny Sharrock in 1994), nor did he play duos with Han Bennink. He did, however, display his current tastes in music which over the last twenty years have embraced musicians not only from Europe but also from Chicago and Japan.

Brötzmann's Chicago Tentet performed twice at the festival and two lengthy pieces are presented here. The first is an eerie 26-minute performance with Danish saxophonist John Tchicai, who passed away within a year of this recording. He can be heard chanting "Everything can happen from one second to the next." The second was the Tentet's "Concert For Fukushima" performance with guests Otomo Yoshihide, Akira Sakata, Michiyo Yagi and Toshinori Konda. This release only captures Yagi's koto performance, about a quarter of the two hour performance. Will there be more of this music to follow?

While Brötzmann is featured prominently here, he leads only ten out of the eighteen groups. He also choses to present his current listening pleasures. The highlights of the non-Brötzmann groups heard are several. Joe McPhee's saxophone and trumpet accompanies Morroccian Gnawa musican Maâllem Mokhtar Gania, Fred Lonberg-Holm and Michael Zerang for some African trance music. Saxophonist Mats Gustafsson, perhaps the heir to Brötzmann's sound, dabbles in bits and bites of improvisation and electronics with Dieb13 and Martin Siewert. Masahiko Satoh delivers a rollicking and cogent solo piano piece that swaps Cecil Taylor runs with stride tones and fragments of classical delivery. Brötzmann's influence can also be heard in the koto, cello and guzheng (a Chinese plucked zither) trio of Michiyo Yagi, Okkyung Lee and Xu Fengxia, as the three blast off into a freeform ethereal sound. The highlight of the non-Brötzmann ensembles might be the DKV Trio of Hamid Drake, Kent Kessler and Ken Vandermark augmented by Mats Gustafsson, Massimo Pupillo and Paal Nilssen-Love. The trio-cum-sextet sketch a restrained improvisation that is more listening than playing, before their rocked-out climax of sound.

The festival goers and connoisseurs of the great man's work are treated to various permutations and combinations of his music. His three-saxophone improvising band, Sonore, with Ken Vandermark and Mats Gustafson, marks its tenth anniversary working together here, as does the relatively new saxophone/piano/drums trio of Brotzmann, Masahiko Satoh and Takeo Moriyama. His acclaimed duo with Chicago vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz is augmented here by drummer Sabu Toyozumi. The percussionist adds locomotion to the duo, plus he spikes the intensity.

Another new-ish Brötzmann saxophone trio, with bassist Eric Revis and drummer Nasheet Waits, is the most conventional approach heard here. Although it is far from conservative, the thirty-seven minute piece might be a nod to American free jazz as opposed to the European approach Brötzmann has championed most of his career.

The emotional and aural high points of this box set are the two pieces, one by Brotzmann's electric band Hairy Bones and the other by the African influenced ensemble that reunites him with bassist Bill Laswell. The latter piece includes Hamid Drake and guembri musican Maâllem Mokhtar Gania. While this piece hypnotizes the ear for nearly fifty-two minutes, the Hairy Bones improvisation clocking in at twenty-one minutes is an exhausting barrage of sound and energy. Toshinori Kondo's electrified trumpet and Masimo Pupillo's electric bass battle Brötzmann and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love for stage preeminence. The music is both exhilarating and exhausting.

If six hours of music could possibly leave you wanting, this collection does.

Tracklist:

Disc 1
1. Sonore – Untitled
Reeds – Ken Vandermark, Mats Gustafsson, Peter Brötzmann

2. Chicago Tentet* With John Tchicai – Untitled
Bass – Kent Kessler
Cello – Fredrick Lonberg-Holm
Drums – Michael Zerang, Paal Nilssen-Love
Reeds – John Tchicai, Ken Vandermark, Mats Gustafsson, Peter Brötzmann
Trombone – Jeb Bishop, Johannes Bauer
Trumpet – Joe McPhee
Tuba – Per Åke Holmlander

3. Michiyo Yagi | Okkyung Lee | Xu Fengxia – Untitled
Cello – Okkyung Lee Guzheng – Xu Fengxia Koto [21-String, 17-String Bass Koto] – Michiyo Yagi

4. Peter Brötzmann | Masahiko Sato | Takeo Moriyama – Untitled
Drums – Takeo Moriyama
Piano – Masahiko Sato
Reeds – Peter Brötzmann

Disc 2
1. Joe McPhee | Maâllem Mokhtar Gania | Fredrick Lonberg-Holm | Michael Zerang – Untitled
Cello – Fredrick Lonberg-Holm
Drums – Michael Zerang
Guimbri – Maâllem Mokhtar Gania
Trumpet, Saxophone – Joe McPhee

2. Peter Brötzmann | Michiyo Yagi | Tamaya Honda –Untitled
Drums – Tamaya Honda
Koto [21-String, 17-String Bass Koto] – Michiyo Yagi
Reeds – Peter Brötzmann

3. Peter Brötzmann | Jason Adasiewicz | Sabu Toyozumi – Untitled
Drums – Sabu Toyozumi
Reeds – Peter Brötzmann
Vibraphone – Jason Adasiewicz

4. Dieb13 | Mats Gustafsson | Martin Siewert – Untitled
Guitar, Effects [Ring Stinger], Electronics – Martin Siewert
Reeds, Electronics [Live] – Mats Gustafsson
Turntables, Effects [Cigar Box] – Dieb13

Disc 3
1. Keiji Haino – Untitled
Electric Guitar, Voice – Keiji Haino

2. Peter Brötzmann | Bill Laswell | Maâllem Mokhtar Gania | Hamid Drake – Untitled
Drums – Hamid Drake
Electric Bass – Bill Laswell
Guimbri – Maâllem Mokhtar Gania
Reeds – Peter Brötzmann

Disc 4
1. Jeb Bishop | Joe McPhee | Mars Williams | Jason Adasiewicz | Kent Kessler | Tamaya Honda – Untitled
Bass – Kent Kessler
Drums – Tamaya Honda
Reeds – Mars Williams
Trombone – Jeb Bishop
Trumpet, Saxophone – Joe McPhee
Vibraphone – Jason Adasiewicz

2. Hairy Bones – Untitled
Drums – Paal Nilssen-Love
Electric Bass – Massimo Pupillo
Reeds – Peter Brötzmann
Trumpet, Electronics – Toshinori Kondo

3. Masahiko Sato – Untitled
Piano – Masahiko Sato

4. Chicago Tentet* With Michiyo Yagi – Concert For Fukushima
Bass – Kent Kessler
Cello – Fredrick Lonberg-Holm
Drums – Michael Zerang, Paal Nilssen-Love
Koto [21-String, 17-String Bass Koto] – Michiyo Yagi
Reeds – Ken Vandermark, Mats Gustafsson, Peter Brötzmann
Trombone – Jeb Bishop, Johannes Bauer
Trumpet – Joe McPhee
Tuba – Per Åke Holmlander

Disc 5
1. Peter Brötzmann | Eric Revis | Nasheet Waits – Untitled
Bass – Eric Revis
Drums – Nasheet Waits
Reeds – Peter Brötzmann

2. DKV Trio With Mats Gustafsson | Massimo Pupillo | Paal Nilssen-Love – Untitled
Bass – Kent Kessler
Drums – Hamid Drake, Paal Nilssen-Love
Electric Bass – Massimo Pupillo
Reeds – Ken Vandermark, Mats Gustafsson

3. Full Blast (2) – Untitled
Drums – Michael Wertmüller
Electric Bass – Marino Pliakas
Reeds – Peter Brötzmann

4. Caspar Brötzmann Massaker – Untitled
Drums – Danny Arnold Lommen
Electric Bass – Eduardo Delgado-Lopez
Guitar, Voice – Caspar Brötzmann