Rabble Without A Cause
Wednesday December 4th, 2013 with Bernard Stepien
Peter Brötzmann Songlines 1991

Peter Brötzmann is known as one of the most radical European Free Jazz players. He has played loud and furiously throughout over four decades and has no plans to retire. Tonight, we will feature an FMP label recording from 1991 that features him with legendary American drummer Rashied Ali, a late member of John Coltrane’s groups and AACM member bassist Fred Hopkins. While most people refer to Albert Ayler as an influence, on this recording, we can hear an obvious tribute to John Coltrane including the lyricism and modal approach, in other words a very non-European approach to the music. It is a well-known fact that American musicians have a built-in blues component going back to their African ancestry while Europeans have a long tradition of abstraction that goes back to Johann Sebastian Bach. This recording has puzzled many to the point that some even wondered if Brötzmann was trying to play Jazz standards including ballads. Bassist Fred Hopkins contributed with his version of great Black American music so well illustrate by the Art Ensemble of Chicago that was well known in Europe and even managed to soar thanks to the European highly abstract audiences. In any case, this recording is important because it marks the fusion between European and American Free Jazz concepts that Brötzmann maintained to this day through collaborations with musicians such as Chicago musician Ken Vandemark.