Peter Brötzmann (6 March 1941 – 22 June 2023) was a German jazz saxophonist and

clarinetist The clarinet is a single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches. The clarinet family is the largest woodw ...

regarded as a central and pioneering figure in European

free jazz Free jazz, or free form in the early to mid-1970s, is a style of avant-garde jazz or an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventi ...

. Throughout his career, he released over fifty albums as a bandleader. Amongst his many collaborators were key figures in free jazz, including Derek Bailey,

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 Chi ...

and

Cecil Taylor Cecil Percival Taylor (March 25, 1929April 5, 2018) was an American pianist and poet. Taylor was classically trained and was one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an energetic, physical approach, resulting in comple ...

, as well as experimental musicians such as Keiji Haino and Charles Hayward. His 1968 '' Machine Gun'' became "one of the landmark albums of 20th-century free jazz".

Biography

Life

Brötzmann was born in

Remscheid Remscheid () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is, after Wuppertal and Solingen, the third-largest municipality in Bergisches Land, being located on the northern edge of the region, on the south side of the Ruhr area. Remscheid ha ...

on 6 March 1941. He studied painting in

Wuppertal Wuppertal (; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany, with a population of 355,000. Wuppertal is the seventh-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and List of cities in Germany by population, 17th-largest in Germany. It ...

and was involved with the

Fluxus Fluxus was an international, interdisciplinary community of artists, composers, designers, and poets during the 1960s and 1970s who engaged in experimental performance art, art performances which emphasized the artistic process over the finishe ...

movement but grew dissatisfied with art galleries and exhibitions. He experienced his first jazz concert when he saw American jazz musician

Sidney Bechet Sidney Joseph Bechet ( ; May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. He was one of the first important Solo (music), soloists in jazz, and first recorded several months before trumpeter Louis Ar ...

while still in school at Wuppertal, and it made a lasting impression. He was also inspired by

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

and

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...

. Brötzmann had not abandoned his art training, designing most of his album covers. He taught himself to play

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

and

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

, and is also known for playing the tárogató. Among his first musical partnerships was with double bassist

Peter Kowald Peter Kowald (21 April 1944 – 21 September 2002) was a German free jazz and free improvising double bassist and tubist. Career A member of the Globe Unity Orchestra, and a touring double-bass player, Kowald collaborated with many European f ...

. '' For Adolphe Sax'', Brötzmann's first recording, was released in 1967 and featured Kowald and drummer Sven-Åke Johansson. In 1968, '' Machine Gun'', an octet recording, was released. The album was self-produced under his BRO record label imprint and sold at concerts, and later marketed by FMP. In 2007, Atavistic reissued ''Machine Gun''. "Machine Gun" was a nickname Don Cherry gave him "to describe his violent style". Brötzmann died on 22 June 2023, at the age of 82, at home in

, Germany.

Career

The album ''

Nipples The nipple is a raised region of tissue on the surface of the breast from which, in lactating females, milk from the mammary gland leaves the body through the lactiferous ducts to nurse an infant. The milk can flow through the nipple passively, ...

'' was recorded in 1969 with many of the ''Machine Gun'' musicians, including drummer

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 figu ...

, pianist Fred Van Hove, tenor saxophonist Evan Parker, and British guitarist Derek Bailey. The second set of takes from these sessions, called ''More Nipples'', is more raucous. '' Fuck de Boere'' (dedicated to

Johnny Dyani Johnny Mbizo Dyani (30 November 1945 – 24 October 1986) was a South African jazz double bassist, vocalist and pianist, who, in addition to being a key member of The Blue Notes, played with such international musicians as Don Cherry, Steve L ...

) is a live album of free sessions from these early years, containing two long improvisations, a 1968 recording of "Machine Gun" live (earlier than the studio version) and a longer jam from 1970. Brötzmann was a member of Bennink's Instant Composers Pool, a collective of musicians who released their own records and that grew into a 10-piece orchestra. The logistics of touring with the ICP tentet or his octet resulted in Brötzmann reducing the group to a trio with

and Fred Van Hove. Bennink was a partner in '' Schwarzwaldfahrt'', an album of duets recorded outside in the

Black Forest The Black Forest ( ) is a large forested mountain range in the States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is th ...

in 1977, with Bennink drumming on trees and other objects in the woods. In 1981, Brötzmann made a radio broadcast with Frank Wright and

Willem Breuker Willem Breuker (4 November 1944 – 23 July 2010) was a Dutch bandleader, composer, arranger, saxophonist, and clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindri ...

(saxophones), Toshinori Kondo (trumpet), Hannes Bauer and Alan Tomlinson (trombones),

Alexander von Schlippenbach Alexander von Schlippenbach (born 7 April 1938) is a German jazz pianist and composer. He came to prominence in the 1960s playing free jazz in a trio with saxophonist Evan Parker and drummer Paul Lovens, and as a member of the Globe Unity Orch ...

(piano),

Louis Moholo Louis Tebogo Moholo (10 March 1940 – 13 June 2025) was a South African jazz drummer. He was a member of several notable bands, including The Blue Notes, the Brotherhood of Breath and Assagai. Biography Born in Cape Town, Moholo formed The ...

(drums), and Harry Miller (bass). This was released as the album ''

Alarm ALARM (Air Launched Anti-Radiation Missile) is a British anti-radiation missile designed primarily to destroy enemy radars for the purpose of Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD). It was used by the Royal Air Force, RAF and is still used by ...

''. In the 1980s, Brötzmann's music was influenced by heavy metal and

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...

. He was a member of Last Exit and recorded music with the band's bass guitarist and producer

Bill Laswell William Otis Laswell (born February 12, 1955) is an American bass guitarist, record producer, and record label owner. He has been involved in thousands of recordings with many collaborators from all over the world. His music draws from funk, wo ...

. Brötzmann released over fifty albums as a bandleader and appeared on dozens more. His "Die Like a Dog Quartet" (with Toshinori Kondo, William Parker, and drummer Hamid Drake) was loosely inspired by saxophonist

Albert Ayler Albert Ayler (; July 13, 1936 – November 25, 1970) was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist and composer. After early experience playing rhythm and blues and bebop, Ayler began recording music during the free jazz era of the 1960s. Ho ...

, a prime influence on Brötzmann's music. Beginning in 1997, he toured and recorded regularly with the Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet (initially an octet), which he disbanded after an ensemble performance in November 2012 in Strasbourg, France. Brötzmann also recorded or performed with

, Keiji Haino, Willem van Manen,

Mats Gustafsson Mats Olof Gustafsson (born 29 October 1964) is a Swedish free jazz saxophone player. Career Gustafsson came to the attention of lovers of improvised music as part of a duo with Christian Munthe (started in 1986), as member of Gunter Chris ...

Ken Vandermark Ken Vandermark (born September 22, 1964) is an American composer, saxophonist, and clarinetist. A fixture on the Chicago-area music scene since the 1990s, Vandermark has earned wide critical praise for his playing and his multilayered composit ...

, Conny Bauer, Joe McPhee, Paal Nilssen-Love, with

Oxbow __NOTOC__ An oxbow is a U-shaped metal pole (or larger wooden frame) that fits the underside and the sides of the neck of an ox or wikt:bullock, bullock. A bow pin holds it in place. The term "oxbow" is widely used to refer to a U-shaped meand ...

, and with Caspar Brötzmann, his son.

Recordings

Recordings with Brötzmann as leader include: * '' For Adolphe Sax'' (Brö, 1967) * '' Machine Gun'' (Brö, 1968) * ''

'' (Calig, 1969) * ''Solo'' (FMP, 1976) * '' 3 Points and a Mountain'' with Misha Mengelberg and

(FMP, 1979) * ''

'' (FMP, 1983) * '' Pica Pica'' (FMP, 1984) * '' Berlin Djungle'' (FMP, 1987) * ''Go-No-Go'' (FMP, 1987) * '' Low Life'' (Celluloid, 1987) * ''In a State of Undress'' with Jay Oliver (FMP, 1989) * ''Réservé'' with Günter Sommer (FMP, 1989) * ''No Nothing'' (FMP, 1991) * ''The Marz Combo Live in Wuppertal'' (FMP, 1993) * ''

Songlines A songline, also called dreaming track, is one of the paths across the land (or sometimes the sky) within the animist belief systems of the Aboriginal cultures of Australia. They mark the route followed by localised "creator-beings" in the Dr ...

'' with Fred Hopkins and Rashied Ali (FMP, 1994) * '' The Chicago Octet/Tentet'' (Okka Disk, 1998) * '' Stone/Water'' (Okka Disk, 2000) * ''The Atlanta Concert'' with Fred Hopkins (Okka Disk, 2001) * '' Fuck de Boere'' (Atavistic, 2001) * ''Short Visit to Nowhere'' (Okka Disk, 2002) * ''Broken English'' (Okka Disk, 2002) * ''More Nipples'' (Atavistic, 2003) * '' Tales Out of Time'' (HatHut, 2004) * ''Signs'' (Okka Disk, 2004) * ''Images'' (Okka Disk, 2004) * ''Be Music Night'' (Okka Disk, 2005) * '' American Landscapes 1'' (Okka Disk, 2007) * '' American Landscapes 2'' (Okka Disk, 2007) * ''Hairy Bones'' with Toshinori Kondo (Okka Disk, 2009) * '' Lost & Found'' (FMP, 2009) * ''Goosetalks'' with Johannes Bauer (Kilogram, 2010) * ''

Woodcuts Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with Chisel#Gouge, gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts ...

'' with Paal Nilssen-Love (Smalltown Superjazzz, 2010) * '' 3 Nights in Oslo'' (Smalltown Superjazzz, 2010) * ''Live in Wiesbaden'' with

Jörg Fischer Jörg Fischer (born 4 July 1957) is a German guitar player, primarily known for his work with the German band Accept. He joined the band at the end of the recording sessions for their self-titled debut and played on the albums ''I'm a Rebel'' an ...

(Not Two, 2011) * ''Yatagarasu'' with Masahiko Satoh (Not Two, 2012) * ''Walk, Love, Sleep'' (Smalltown Superjazzz, 2012) * '' Whatthefuckdoyouwant'' with Sonny Sharrock (Trost, 2014) * '' Mental Shake'' (Otoroku, 2014) * ''Beautiful Lies'' (Neos, 2016) * ''

I Surrender Dear "I Surrender Dear" (sometimes written as "I Surrender, Dear") is a song composed by Harry Barris with lyrics by Gordon Clifford (lyricist), Gordon Clifford, first performed by Gus Arnheim, Gus Arnheim and His Cocoanut Grove Orchestra with Bing C ...

'' (Trost, 2019) With

* ''Ein Halber Hund Kann Nicht Pinkeln'' (FMP, 1977) * '' Schwarzwaldfahrt'' (FMP, 1977) * '' Still Quite Popular After All Those Years'' (Brö, 2004) With Die Like a Dog Quartet * '' Die Like a Dog: Fragments of Music, Life and Death of Albert Ayler'' (FMP, 1994) * '' Little Birds Have Fast Hearts'' Nos. 1 and 2 (FMP, 1998/1999) * '' From Valley to Valley'' (Eremite, 1999) * ''

Aoyama Crows ''Aoyama Crows'' is a live album by the Die Like a Dog Quartet: saxophonist Peter Brötzmann, trumpeter Toshinori Kondo, bassist William Parker, and drummer Hamid Drake. It was recorded in November 1999 at the "Total Music Meeting" held at the ...

'' (FMP, 2002) * ''The Complete FMP Recordings'' (Jazzwerkstatt, 2007) compilation * ''Close Up'' (FMP, 2011) With Hamid Drake * '' The Dried Rat–Dog'' (Okka Disk, 1995) * '' Live at the Empty Bottle'' (Okka Disk, 1999) With

Mahmoud Guinia Mahmoud Guinia (, and rarely or ; also spelled Gania, Guinea or Khania; 1951 – 2 August 2015) was a Morocco, Moroccan Gnawa musician, singer and sintir, guembri player, who was traditionally regarded as a Maâllem (), i.e. master. The family na ...

and Hamid Drake * '' The Wels Concert'' (Okka Disk, 1997) With Moukhtar Gania and Hamid Drake * '' The Catch of a Ghost'' (I Dischi Di Angelica, 2020) With Milford Graves and William Parker * '' Historic Music Past Tense Future'' (Black Editions Archive, 2022) With Keiji Haino * ''Evolving Blush or Driving Original Sin'' (PSF, 1996) * '' The intellect given birth to here (eternity) is too young'' (Black Editions/Purple Trap, 2022) With Fred Lonberg-Holm * '' The Brain of the Dog in Section'' (Atavistic, 2008) * ''Ouroboros'' ( Astral Spirits, 2018) * '' Memories of a Tunicate'' (

Relative Pitch Relative pitch is the ability of a person to identify or re-create a given musical note by comparing it to a reference note and identifying the interval between those two notes. For example, if the notes ''Do'' and ''Fa'' are played on a piano, a ...

, 2020) With Last Exit * '' Last Exit'' (Enemy, 1986) * '' The Noise of Trouble'' (Enemy, 1986) * '' Cassette Recordings '87'' (Enemy, 1987) * '' Iron Path'' (Virgin, 1988) * ''

Köln Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

'' (ITM, 1990) * '' Headfirst into the Flames'' (MuWorks, 1993) With Harry Miller * '' The Nearer the Bone, the Sweeter the Meat'' (FMP, 1979) * '' Opened, But Hardly Touched'' (FMP, 1981) With

* An Eternal Reminder Of Not Today – Live at Moers (Trost Records, 2022) With William Parker * '' Never Too Late But Always Too Early'' (Eremite, 2003) With Steve Swell and Paal Nilssen-Love * ''Krakow Nights'' (Not Two, 2015) * ''Live in Copenhagen'' (Not Two, 2016) * ''Live in Tel Aviv'' (Not Two, 2017) With Fred Van Hove * ''Balls'' (FMP, 1970) * ''The End'' (FMP, 1971) * ''Elements'' (FMP, 1971) * '' Brötzmann/Van Hove/Bennink'' (FMP, 1973) With Sakari Luoma and Nikolai Yudanov * ''Fryed Fruit'' (Red Toucan Records 2001) With Wild Man's Band * ''Three Rocks and a Pine'' (Ninth World Music, 1999) * ''The Darkest River'' (Ninth World Music, 2001)

As sideman

With Frode Gjerstad * ''Invisible Touch'' (Cadence, 1999) * ''Sharp Knives Cut Deeper'' (Splasc(H), 2003) * ''Soria Moria'' (FMR, 2003) * ''Live at the Empty Bottle'' (Circulasione Totale, 2019) With Globe Unity Orchestra * ''Globe Unity 73: Live in Wuppertal'' (FMP, 1973) * ''Pearls'' (FMP, 1977) * ''Jahrmarkt/Local Fair'' (Po Torch, 1977) * ''Improvisations'' (Japo, 1978) * ''Hamburg '74'' (FMP, 1979) * ''For Example: Workshop Freie Musik 1969–1978'' (FMP, 1979) * ''Globe Unity 67 & 70'' (Atavistic, 2001) * ''Globe Unity 2002'' (Intakt, 2003) * ''Baden-Baden '75'' (FMP, 2011) * ''FMP: Im Rückblick / In Retrospect'' (FMP, 2011) * ''...Und Jetzt Die Sportschau'' (Trost, 2013) With others *

Ginger Baker Peter Edward "Ginger" Baker (19 August 1939 – 6 October 2019) was an English drummer. His work in the 1960s and 1970s earned him the reputation of "rock's first superstar drummer", for a style that melded jazz and Music of Africa, Africa ...

, '' No Material'' (ITM, 1989) * Ginger Baker, ''Live in Munich Germany 1987'' (Voiceprint, 2010) * Caspar Brötzmann, '' Last Home'' (Pathological, 1990) * Don Cherry, '' Actions'' (Philips, 1971) * Marilyn Crispell, '' Hyperion'' (Music & Art, 1995) *

Andrew Cyrille Andrew Charles Cyrille (born November 10, 1939) is an American avant-garde jazz drummer. Throughout his career, he has performed both as a leader and a sideman in the bands of Walt Dickerson and Cecil Taylor, among others. AllMusic biographer ...

, '' Andrew Cyrille Meets Brötzmann in Berlin'' (FMP, 1983) * Laboratorio Musicale Suono plus Peter Brötzmann, ''deComposition'' ( Setola di Maiale, 2016) * Joe McPhee, '' Guts'' (Okka Disk, 2006) * Evan Parker, '' The Bishop's Move'' (Victo, 2004) * Manfred Schoof, '' European Echoes'' (FMP, 1969) *

, '' Alms/Tiergarten (Spree)'' (FMP, 1989) * Cecil Taylor, '' Olu Iwa'' (Soul Note, 1994)

Films

Two documentaries of Brötzmann's music were produced to honour Brötzmann's 70th birthday in 2011: * ''Rage!'' (also ''Soldier of the Road''), film by Bernard Josse in collaboration with Gérard Rouy (2011) * ''Brötzmann'', Filmproduktion Siegersbusch, documentary film by René Jeuckens, Thomas Mau and Grischa Windus (DVD, 2011). The film received awards including the

Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik Preis is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alfred Preis (1911–1993), Austrian architect * Ellen Preis (Ellen Müller-Preis) (1912–2007), German-born Austrian Olympic champion foil fencer * Mary Louise Preis (born 1941), ...

Awards

Brötzmann received a ''Lifetime Achievement Award'' at the 2011 '' Vision Festival'' in New York City. The same year, he was bestowed the German Jazz Award for his life's achievements. In 2021, Brötzmann and Nils Petter Molvær were awarded the

European Film Awards The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the mos ...

for their music for the history drama ''

Große Freiheit The Große Freiheit (German for: "Great Freedom") is a street starting on the North Side to Hamburg's Reeperbahn road in the St. Pauli quarter. It is part of the red-light district. History The street was named in 1610 after the fact that Co ...

''. In 2022 he received the

, described by the jury as a personality "going on an individual path, change listening and set new standards in avantgarde jazz" ("die ihren individuellen Weg ging, Hörgewohnheiten veränderte und Maßstäbe setzte im Avantgarde-Jazz").

Books

References

External links

Official website

* * *
"Peter Brötzmann review – free-jazz saxophonist on fiercely good form"
by John Lewis at ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 12 February 2023 {{DEFAULTSORT:Brotzmann, Peter 1941 births 2023 deaths 21st-century German male musicians 21st-century German saxophonists Atavistic Records artists Avant-garde jazz musicians CIMP artists FMP/Free Music Production artists German jazz saxophonists German male jazz musicians Globe Unity Orchestra members ICP Orchestra members Last Exit (free jazz band) members German male saxophonists Okka Disk artists People from Remscheid Musicians from the Rhine Province