Barry Altschul (born January 6, 1943, New York City) is a

free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians during ...

and

hard bop Hard bop is a subgenre of jazz that is an extension of bebop (or "bop") music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz that incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospe ...

drummer who first came to notice in the late 1960s for performing with pianists

Paul Bley Paul Bley, CM (November 10, 1932 – January 3, 2016) was a jazz pianist known for his contributions to the free jazz movement of the 1960s as well as his innovations and influence on trio playing and his early live performance on the Moog and ...

and

Chick Corea Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz composer, pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain", " 500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba", and ...

Biography

Altschul is of

Russian Jewish The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest pop ...

heritage, the son of a laborer who did construction work and drove a taxi. Having initially taught himself to play drums, Altschul studied with

Charlie Persip Charles Lawrence Persip (July 26, 1929 – August 23, 2020), known as Charli Persip and formerly as Charlie Persip (he changed the spelling of his name to Charli in the late 1960s), was an American jazz drummer. Biography Born in Morristown, N ...

during the 1960s. In the latter part of the decade, he performed with

. In 1969 he joined with

Dave Holland David “Dave” Holland (born 1 October 1946) is an English jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States for over 40 years. His extensive discography r ...

and

Anthony Braxton Anthony Braxton (born June 4, 1945) is an American experimental composer, educator, music theorist, improviser and multi-instrumentalist who is best known for playing saxophones, particularly the alto. Braxton grew up on the South Side of Chica ...

to form the group

Circle A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is const ...

. At the time, he made use of a high-pitched

Gretsch Gretsch is an American company that manufactures musical instruments. The company was founded in 1883 in Brooklyn, New York by Friedrich Gretsch, a 27-year-old German immigrant, shortly after his arrival to the United States. Friedrich Gretsc ...

kit with add-on drums and percussion instruments. In the 1970s, Altschul worked extensively with Anthony Braxton's quartet featuring

Kenny Wheeler Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, OC (14 January 1930 – 18 September 2014) was a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. from the 1950s onwards. Most of his performances were rooted in jazz, but he was also active ...

, and George E. Lewis. Braxton, signed to

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...

, was able to secure a large enough budget to tour with a collection of dozens of percussion instruments, strings and winds. In addition to his participation in ensembles featuring avant-garde musicians, Altschul performed with Lee Konitz,

Art Pepper Arthur Edward Pepper Jr. (September 1, 1925 – June 15, 1982) was an American alto saxophonist and very occasional tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. Active in West Coast jazz, Pepper came to prominence in Stan Kenton's big band. He was known ...

and other "straight ahead" jazz performers. Altschul also made albums as a leader, but after the mid-1980s he was rarely seen in concert or on record, spending much of his time in Europe. Since the 2000s, he has become more visible, with two sideman appearances on the

CIMP Creative Improvised Music Projects, usually abbreviated CIMP or C.I.M.P., is an American jazz record company and label. It is associated with ''Cadence Magazine'' and Cadence Jazz Records. The label is noted for its minimal use of electronic proc ...

label with the FAB trio (with Billy Bang and

Joe Fonda Joe Fonda (born December 16, 1954) is an American jazz bassist. Career Fonda was born in Amsterdam, New York to parents who both played jazz. He played guitar as a youth but switched to bass guitar later. He studied bass at Berklee College of M ...

), the

Jon Irabagon Jon Irabagon is a Filipino-American saxophonist, composer, and founder of Irabbagast Records. Winner of the 2008 Thelonious Monk Jazz Competition and one of '' Time Outs "25 essential New York City jazz icons", Irabagon is known for the breadth ...

Trio recording "Foxy", and the bassist Adam Lane. Altschul has played or recorded with many musicians, including

Roswell Rudd Roswell Hopkins Rudd Jr. (November 17, 1935 – December 21, 2017) was an American jazz trombonist and composer. Although skilled in a variety of genres of jazz (including Dixieland, which he performed while in college), and other genres of musi ...

Dave Liebman David Liebman (born September 4, 1946) is an American saxophonist, flautist and jazz educator. He is known for his innovative lines and use of atonality. He was a frequent collaborator with pianist Richie Beirach. In June 2010, he received a N ...

Barre Phillips Barre Phillips (born October 27, 1934, in San Francisco, California, United States) is an American jazz bassist. A professional musician since 1960, he moved to New York City in 1962, then to Europe in 1967. Since 1972, he has been based in south ...

Denis Levaillant Denis Levaillant (born 3 August, 1952) is a French composer, pianist and writer based in Paris, France. He has orchestrated more than twenty musical shows including ' and composed more than 120 musical works worldwide. Levaillant has been recogniz ...

, Andrew Hill,

Sonny Criss William "Sonny" Criss (23 October 1927 – 19 November 1977) was an American jazz musician. An alto saxophonist of prominence during the bebop era of jazz, he was one of many players influenced by Charlie Parker. Biography William Criss wa ...

Hampton Hawes Hampton Barnett Hawes Jr. (November 13, 1928 – May 22, 1977) was an American jazz pianist. He was the author of the memoir ''Raise Up Off Me'', which won the Deems-Taylor Award for music writing in 1975. Early life Hampton Hawes was born on N ...

, and

Lee Konitz Leon Konitz (October 13, 1927 – April 15, 2020) was an American composer and alto saxophonist. He performed successfully in a wide range of jazz styles, including bebop, cool jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Konitz's association with the cool jazz ...

Discography

As leader/co-leader

* 1967: '' Virtuosi'' (

Improvising Artists Improvising Artists Inc. known as IAI is a production company created by jazz pianist, Paul Bley Paul Bley, CM (November 10, 1932 – January 3, 2016) was a jazz pianist known for his contributions to the free jazz movement of the 1960s as well ...

) with

and Gary Peacock * 1977: ''You Can't Name Your Own Tune'' ( 32 Jazz) * 1978: ''Another Time/Another Place'' (

Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

) * 1979: ''For Stu'' (

Soul Note Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz. History Black S ...

) * 1979: ''Somewhere Else'' (

Moers Music Moers Music is a German jazz record label that was founded by Burkhard Hennen in Moers, Germany. The label started in 1974 under the name Ring but was changed three years later due to a conflict with a Canadian record label that had the same name. ...

) * 1979: ''

Be-Bop? ''Be-Bop?'', is an album by baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams and drummer Barry Altschul which was recorded in Paris in 1979 and released on the French Musica label.

'' ( Musica) with

Pepper Adams Park Frederick "Pepper" Adams III (October 8, 1930 – September 10, 1986) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist and composer. He composed 42 pieces, was the leader on eighteen albums spanning 28 years, and participated in 600 sessions as a s ...

* 1980: ''Brahma'' ( Sackville) * 1983: ''Irina'' (Soul Note) * 1986: ''That's Nice'' (Soul Note) * 2003: ''Transforming the Space'' * 2012: '' Reunion: Live in New York'' ( Pi) * 2013: ''The 3Dom Factor'' (TUM) * 2015: ''Tales of the Unforeseen'' (TUM)

As sideman

With

* '' Touching'' (

Debut Debut or début (the first public appearance of a person or thing) may refer to: * Debut (society), the formal introduction of young upper-class women to society * Debut novel, an author's first published novel Film and television * ''The Debu ...

, 1965) * '' Closer'' (

ESP-Disk ESP-Disk is a New York-based record company and label founded in 1963 by lawyer Bernard Stollman. History Though it originally existed to release Esperanto-based music, beginning with its second release (Albert Ayler's ''Spiritual Unity''), ESP b ...

, 1966) * '' Ramblin''' ( BYG Actuel, 1967) * ''Blood'' (Fontana, 1966) * ''In Haarlem - Blood'' (Freedom, 1967) * ''

Ballads A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

'' (ECM, 1967

971 Year 971 ( CMLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Battle of Dorostolon: A Byzantine expeditionary army (possibly 30–40,000 men) ...

* '' Paul Bley & Scorpio'' (Milestone, 1973) * '' Japan Suite'' (Improvising Artists, 1977) * ''

Hot Hot or the acronym HOT may refer to: Food and drink *Pungency, in food, a spicy or hot quality *Hot, a wine tasting descriptor Places * Hot district, a district of Chiang Mai province, Thailand **Hot subdistrict, a sub-district of Hot Distric ...

'' (Soul Note, 1985) * '' Live at Sweet Basil'' (Soul Note, 1988) * ''Indian Summer'' (SteepleChase, 1987) * ''Rejoicing'' (SteepleChase, 1989) With

* '' The Complete Braxton'' (

Freedom Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving on ...

, 1971

973 Year 973 ( CMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – The Byzantine army, led by General Melias (Domestic of the S ...

* ''

Town Hall 1972 ''Town Hall 1972'' is a live album by American jazz saxophonist Anthony Braxton recorded in 1972 at The Town Hall in New York City and originally released on the Japanese Trio label and rereleased on the hatART label as ''Town Hall (Trio & Quin ...

'' (Trio, 1972) * '' Quartet: Live at Moers Festival'' (Ring, 1974

976 Year 976 ( CMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * January 10 – Emperor John I Tzimiskes dies at Constantinople, after re ...

* '' Five Pieces 1975'' ( Arista, 1975) * '' Creative Orchestra Music 1976'' (Arista, 1976) * ''

Dortmund (Quartet) 1976 ''Dortmund (Quartet) 1976'' is a live album by American composer and saxophonist Anthony Braxton recorded in Germany in 1976 but not released on the hatART label until 1991.

'' (hatART, 1976 991 * '' The Montreux/Berlin Concerts'' (Arista, 1975–76) With

* ''

The Song of Singing ''The Song of Singing'' is a studio album by Chick Corea, released in 1971 on Blue Note Records. The recording features bassist Dave Holland and drummer/percussionist Barry Altschul. Corea, Holland and Altschul made up three fourths of the free ...

'' (1971) * ''

Circling In ''Circling In'' is a double LP collection by jazz pianist Chick Corea featuring performances recorded between 1968 and 1970, including the first recordings by the group Circle, which was first released on the Blue Note label in 1975.ARC'' ( ECM, 1971) * '' Circulus'' (1970) * '' Paris Concert'' (ECM, 1971) * ''The Beginning'' (1996) With

Annette Peacock Annette Peacock is an American composer, musician, songwriter, producer, and arranger. She is a pioneer in electronic music who combined her voice with one of the first Moog synthesizers in the late 1960s. Biography Annette Peacock was writing ...

* 1972 '' I'm the One'' * 2014 ''I Belong to a World That's Destroying Itself'' ka ''Revenge'' With Sam Rivers * 1973 '' Hues'' (

Impulse! Impulse! Records (occasionally styled as "¡mpulse! Records" and "¡!") is an American jazz record company and label established by Creed Taylor in 1960. John Coltrane was among Impulse!'s earliest signings. Thanks to consistent sales and positiv ...

) * 1975 '' Sizzle'' (Impulse!) * 1976 ''The Quest'' (Red) * 1977 ''Paragon'' With others * 1972 ''

Hold That Plane! ''Hold That Plane!'' is the third studio album by blues guitarist Buddy Guy. It was recorded in November 1969, but not released by Vanguard Records until 1972. History Buddy Guy had no luck with the record companies. Although he had recorded ...

'',

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray V ...

* 1972 ''Play the Blues'', Buddy Guy/

Junior Wells Junior Wells (born Amos Wells Blakemore Jr., December 9, 1934January 15, 1998) was an American singer, harmonica player, and recording artist. He is best known for his signature song "Messin' with the Kid" and his 1965 album ''Hoodoo Man Blues'' ...

* 1973 '' Conference of the Birds'',

(ECM) * 1973 ''

Icarus In Greek mythology, Icarus (; grc, Ἴκαρος, Íkaros, ) was the son of the master craftsman Daedalus, the architect of the labyrinth of Crete. After Theseus, king of Athens and enemy of Minos, escaped from the labyrinth, King Minos suspe ...

'',

Paul Winter Paul Winter (born August 31, 1939) is an American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. He is a pioneer of world music and earth music, which interweaves the voices of the wild with instrumental voices from classical, jazz and world music. The ...

* 1974 ''

Drum Ode ''Drum Ode'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist Dave Liebman recorded in 1974 and released on the ECM label.

'',

* 1974 ''

Flexible Flyer Flexible Flyer is a toy and recreational equipment brand, best known for the sled of the same name, a steerable wooden sled with steel runners. Operation Flexible Flyers are flexible both in design and usage. Riders may sit upright on the sle ...

'',

* 1975 ''

Coon Bid'ness ''Coon Bid'ness'' is an album released by Julius Hemphill in 1975 on Arista featuring performances by Hemphill, Baikida Carroll, Abdul Wadud, Phillip Wilson, Arthur Blythe, Barry Altschul and Daniel Zebulon. The final track, "The Hard Blues," w ...

'', Julius Hemphill * 1975 ''

Spiral In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a point, moving farther away as it revolves around the point. Helices Two major definitions of "spiral" in the American Heritage Dictionary are:Andrew Hill * 1982 '' Give and Take'', John Lindberg (

Black Saint Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz. History Black S ...

) * 1983 '' And Far Away''

Kenny Drew Kenneth Sidney "Kenny" Drew (August 28, 1928 – August 4, 1993) was an American-Danish jazz pianist. Biography Drew was born in New York City, United States, and received piano lessons from the age of five.Feather, Leonard, & Ira Gitler (2 ...

(Soul Note) * 1983 ''Lido'',

Claudio Fasoli Claudio Fasoli (born 29 November 1939) is an Italian jazz - saxophonist (tenor and soprano saxophone) and composer of modern jazz. Music career Born in Venice, he now lives in Milan, Italy. After a long apprenticeship and many sessions with v ...

* 1983 ''My One and Only Love'',

Franco D'Andrea Francesco "Franco" D'Andrea (born 8 March 1941 in Merano, Italy) is an Italian jazz pianist and composer. Life D'Andrea is considered one of the most famous jazz musicians from Italy and has recorded some 200 albums. He developed his style in ...

* 1983 ''No Idea of Time'', Franco D'Andrea * 1983 ''Sounds of Love'', Tiziana Ghiglioni * 1986 ''Passages'',

(DLM, 1986/2012) * 1990 ''Brundl's Basslab'', Manfred Brundl * 1991 ''For All the Marbles Suite'',

Simon Nabatov Simon Nabatov (born 11 January 1959) is a Russian-American jazz pianist. Early life Nabatov was born in Moscow on 11 January 1959. His parents were Leon, a professional pianist and choir conductor who was a native of Belarus, and Regina. Nabatov ...

* 1992 ''Giacobazzi: Autour de la Rade'', André Jaume * 1995 ''Live'', Brundl's Basslab * 1995 ''Reflections'', Julius Hemphill * 1997 ''Kinshasa-Washington D.C.-Paris'',

Ray Lema Raymond Lema A'nsi Nzinga (born 30 March 1946), known as Ray Lema, is a Congolese (DRC) musician. A pianist, guitarist, and songwriter, he settled in France in 1982.

* 1999 ''Clarinet Sessions'', André Jaume * 2000 ''Another Side'', Ken Simon * 2001 '' Skillfullness'',

Alan Silva Alan Silva (born Alan Lee da Silva; January 22, 1939 in Bermuda) is an American free jazz double bassist and keyboard player. Biography Silva was born a British subject to an Azorean/Portuguese mother, Irene da Silva, and a black Bermudian fat ...

* 2002 ''Four Beings'', Adam Lane * 2003 ''Transforming the Space'', FAB Trio * 2004 ''Desert Songs & Other Landscapes'',

Gebhard Ullmann Gebhard Ullmann (born November 2, 1957) is a German jazz musician and composer. Career At the age of six, Ullmann started to play the recorder and later classical flute. Since 1976 he studied a.o. with Herb Geller and Dave Liebman and at ...

* 2005 ''Flat Fleet'',

Enrico Rava Enrico Rava (born 20 August 1939), is an Italian jazz trumpeter. He started on trombone, then changed to the trumpet after hearing Miles Davis. Career He was born in Trieste, Italy. His first commercial work was as a member of Gato Barbieri's ...

* 2009 ''Live in Amsterdam'', FAB Trio * 2009 '' Trombone Tribe'', Roswell Rudd * 2010 ''News? No News!'', Gebhard Ullmann-

Steve Swell Steve Swell (born in Newark, New Jersey, December 6, 1954) is an American free jazz trombonist, composer, and educator. Music career Swell studied at Jersey City State Teachers College before moving to New York City in 1975 where he began his m ...

Quartet

References

External links

Allmusic.com biography AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Altschul, Barry 1943 births Living people American jazz drummers Musicians from New York City Musicians from New York (state) Muse Records artists 20th-century American drummers American male drummers Circle (jazz band) members Jazz musicians from New York (state) 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians 21st-century American drummers Sackville Records artists Improvising Artists Records artists 21st-century American male musicians American people of Russian-Jewish descent Jewish jazz musicians