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 duri ...

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 Ch ...

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 cons ...

. 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 Gretsch ...

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 i ...

, 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 Entertain ...

, 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 know ...

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 label with the FAB trio (with

Billy Bang Billy Bang (September 20, 1947 – April 11, 2011), born William Vincent Walker, was an American free jazz violinist and composer. Biography Bang's family moved to New York City's Bronx neighborhood while he was still an infant, and as a ...

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 ...

), 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,

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 ...

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 sout ...

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 recogni ...

, 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, 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 j ...

Discography

As leader/co-leader

* 1967: '' Virtuosi'' ( Improvising Artists) with

and

Gary Peacock Gary George Peacock (May 12, 1935September 4, 2020) was an American jazz double bassist. He recorded a dozen albums under his own name, and also performed and recorded with major jazz figures such as avant garde saxophonist Albert Ayler, pianis ...

* 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 ...

) * 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?'' ( 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 ...

* 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 Deb ...

, 1965) * '' Closer'' ( ESP-Disk, 1966) * '' Ramblin''' (

BYG Actuel BYG Records was a French record label known for the Actuel series specializing in free jazz. However, the label released a handful of non-jazz recordings by artists such as Musica Elettronica Viva, Freedom and Gong. History BYG Records was found ...

, 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 ''Paul Bley & Scorpio'' is an album by Paul Bley performing compositions by Annette Peacock and Carla Bley which was released by the Milestone label in 1973.Japan Suite'' (Improvising Artists, 1977) * '' Hot'' (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 one ...

, 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 & Quint ...

'' (Trio, 1972) * '' Quartet: Live at Moers Festival'' (Ring, 1974 976 * '' Five Pieces 1975'' ( Arista, 1975) * '' Creative Orchestra Music 1976'' (Arista, 1976) * '' Dortmund (Quartet) 1976'' (hatART, 1976

991 Year 991 ( CMXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events * March 1: In Rouen, Pope John XV ratifies the first Truce of God, between Æthelred the Unready and Richard I of ...

* ''

The Montreux/Berlin Concerts ''The Montreux/Berlin Concerts'' is a double album by American jazz saxophonist Anthony Braxton recorded in 1975 and 1976 and released on the Arista label.

'' (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 j ...

'' (1971) * '' Circling In'' (1975) * '' ARC'' (

ECM ECM may refer to: Economics and commerce * Engineering change management * Equity capital markets * Error correction model, an econometric model * European Common Market Mathematics * Elliptic curve method * European Congress of Mathemat ...

, 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 Sam Rivers may refer to: * Sam Rivers (jazz musician) Samuel Carthorne Rivers (September 25, 1923 – December 26, 2011) was an American jazz musician and composer. Though most famously a tenor saxophonist, he also performed on soprano saxophone ...

* 1973 '' Hues'' ( Impulse!) * 1975 '' Sizzle'' (Impulse!) * 1976 ''The Quest'' (Red) * 1977 ''Paragon'' With others * 1972 '' Hold That Plane!'',

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 Vaugh ...

* 1972 ''Play the Blues'', Buddy Guy/ Junior Wells * 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 sus ...

'',

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'',

* 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 sl ...

'', Roswell Rudd * 1975 '' Coon Bid'ness'',

Julius Hemphill Julius Arthur Hemphill (January 24, 1938 – April 2, 1995) was a jazz composer and saxophone player. He performed mainly on alto saxophone, less often on soprano and tenor saxophones and flute. Biography Hemphill was born in Fort Worth, Texas, ...

* 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) * 1983 '' And Far Away'' Kenny Drew (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 va ...

* 1983 ''My One and Only Love'', Franco D'Andrea * 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 * 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 United States of America, American free jazz double bassist and Keyboard instrument, keyboard player. Biography Silva was born a British subject to an Azores, Azorean/Portug ...

* 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' ...

* 2009 ''Live in Amsterdam'', FAB Trio * 2009 ''

Trombone Tribe ''Trombone Tribe'' is an album by trombonist Roswell Rudd. It was recorded at various locations and was released in 2009 by Sunnyside Records. On the album, Rudd appears in different brass band combinations. On five tracks, Rudd appears in a sextet ...

'', 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 {{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