''The Dried Rat–Dog'' is an album by saxophonist

Peter Brötzmann Peter Brötzmann (born 6 March 1941) is a German saxophonist and clarinetist. Biography Early life Brötzmann was born in Remscheid, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He studied painting in Wuppertal and was involved with the Fluxus movement ...

and drummer Hamid Drake. It was recorded in May 1994 at Sparrow Sound Design in Chicago, and was released in 1995 by

Okka Disk Okka Disk is an independent American jazz record company and label founded in Chicago by Bruno Johnson in 1994. Okka began as a rock music label, but Johnson soon changed direction to record free jazz.

. Regarding the album title, producer

John Corbett John Joseph Corbett Jr. (born May 9, 1961) is an American actor and country music singer. On television, he is best known for his roles as Chris Stevens on ''Northern Exposure'' (1990–1995), Aidan Shaw on ''Sex and the City'' (2000–2003), ...

wrote: "A lovely night in late April. Walking to the Hopleaf bar... Looking down one of the sidestreets Terri points at a little pet on its evening walk. 'Rat-dog,' she mumbles quietly. 'Hmm. Rat-dog. Rattenhund.' Brötzmann smiles brushing back his beard as he does when he thinks. 'Zat's not baaad! Have to check it with Hamid...but I like it.'"

Reception

In a review for

AllMusic 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 databa ...

, Joslyn Lane called the album "a free jazz energy wallop," and stated that it "move through an array of moods and approaches, but never lets up on creativity and musicianship, making ''The Dried Rat-Dog'' a must-hear for all fans of either musician, although not the best place to start for the uninitiated." The authors of the ''

Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled by ...

'' awarded the album 4 stars, and wrote: "Drake has become a particularly perceptive and persuasive partner... Drake's rhythms have a steadier, more momentous pulse than most free-jazz drumming and his use of frame drums and tablas adds a global touch. There are six pieces, brimful of eloquent interplay, and on 'Trees Have Roots in the Earth' and 'Dark Wings Carry Off the Sky' Brötz uncorks some of his most vivid tenor-playing for some time."

Peter Margasak Peter Margasak is a music critic, journalist, and artistic director of the annual Frequency Festival in Chicago, an event that grew out of his longstanding work programming the weekly Frequency Series for experimental, improvised, and contemporary ...

, writing for the '' Chicago Reader'', described the album as "gorgeous," and remarked: "Brötzmann may draw from a wide range of moods and colors, but all of them are sharp and well articulated." Author Todd S. Jenkins compared Drake to

Han Bennink Han Bennink (born 17 April 1942) is a Dutch drummer and percussionist. On occasion his recordings have featured him playing soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, trombone, violin, banjo and piano. Though perhaps best known as one of the pivotal fig ...

, another drummer with whom Brötzmann has frequently played and recorded, and noted: "It is only logical that Drake would prove as satisfactory a partner for Brötzmann as the Dutch genius had been. Drake is a more serious performer than Bennink, engaging in intensified coloration rather than wild-eyed humor on tracks like the tarogato feature 'It's an Angel on the Door.' On this... Brötzmann continues to prove that he is eternally full of surprises."

Track listing

Composed by Hamid Drake and Peter Brötzmann. # "The Dried Rat-Dog" – 13:50 # "It's an Angel on the Door" – 6:51 # "Open Into the Unknown" – 5:17 # "Trees Have Roots in the Earth" – 10:57 # "Uninvited Entertainer" – 16:09 # "Dark Wings Carry Off the Sky" – 7:21

Personnel

– alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, clarinet, tárogató * Hamid Drake – drums, frame drum, tabla

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dried Rat-Dog 1995 albums Peter Brötzmann albums Hamid Drake albums Free jazz albums Okka Disk albums