Peter Brötzmann
Peter Brötzmann (1941 to 2023) was a German saxophonist and clarinettist and a central, pioneering figure of European free jazz. Machine Gun (1968), recorded with an octet that included Evan Parker, Willem Breuker, Fred Van Hove and Han Bennink, remains the founding document of the music; the following year he co-founded FMP, the Berlin label and festival that documented it for three decades. His fat, rough tone and ferocious attack on saxophones, clarinet and tárogató appear on hundreds of recordings, from solo concerts to Last Exit, Die Like a Dog and the Chicago Tentet.
Wolke in Hosen
Peter Brötzmann solo on clarinets and alto, tenor and bass saxophones, recorded at the FMP studio in May 1976: the twelve pieces of the LP Brötzmann/Solo, from 27 seconds to ten minutes.
Main Lines / 1967
In September, 1967, three of the primary ensembles of free music in Northern Europe gathered for a mini-festival on Radio Bremen: the Manfred Schoof Quintet, the Peter Brötzmann Quartet, and the Irène Schweizer Trio. Pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach appeared as part of the Manfred Schoof Quintet, but in these sets, which mixed the dozen members of the ensembles, as well as presenting them on their own, Schlippenbach in fact either led or was at the center of several groupings, presenting two …
The Bottle Tapes
Selections from the Empty Bottle Jazz and Improvised Music Series (1996-2005) is a six-CD anthology that captures the vibrant, unpredictable pulse of Chicago’s improvisational scene. Meticulously compiled from over 500 performances curated by John Corbett and Ken Vandermark, this box set chronicles a crucial era with recordings from nearly 100 international artists, immersing listeners in the fearless experimentation that defined the Empty Bottle’s celebrated Wednesday nights.
Nipples (CD)
Rare first and only CD re-issue of the essential early manifesto of European improvisation, featuring Brötzmann, Han Bennink, Derek Bailey, Evan Parker, Fred Van Hove, Buschi Niebergall.
Outspan No 1 (LP)
Original first edition on FMP of the 1975 album by a quartet of improvisation giants, including FMP catalogue.
Outspan No 2 (LP)
Original first edition on FMP of the 1975 album by a trio of improvisation giants, including FMP catalogue.
Opened, But Hardly Touched (2LP)
Original double album with gatefold sleeve on FMP from 1980, with original innersleeves.
Trios (LP)
Original 1983 LP set on Incus featuring trio improvisations by a large group of who's who of the international free improvisation scene, including Peter Brötzmann, Derek Bailey, Hugh Davies, Evan Parker, Vinko Globokar, Jamie Muir, etc..
Live In Wuppertal (LP)
Original edition on FMP of the first album from 1973 by 'the' free jazz big band, featuring Peter Brotzmann, Peter Kowald, Paul Lovens, Evan Parker, Alex Schlippenbach, Paul Rutherford, Kenny Wheeler and a host of others.
Jahrmarkt / Local Fair (LP)
Original 1977 album on Po Torch with gatefold sleeve by 'the' free jazz big band, featuring Peter Brotzmann, Albert Mangelsdorff, Anthony Braxton, Peter Kowald, Paul Lovens, Evan Parker, Enrico Rava, Alex Schlippenbach and a host of others.
Improvisations (LP)
Original German edition on Japo of the 1978 album by 'the' free jazz big band, featuring Peter Brotzmann, Derek Bailey, Albert Mangelsdorff, Peter Kowald, Paul Lovens, Evan Parker, Tristan Honsinger, Alexander von Schlippenbach and a host of others.
Mental Shake
*2025 stock* CD version. Cafe OTO's tenth Otoroku release sees a return to the group that kick-started the label -- the veteran German reedsman and free-jazz pioneer Peter Brötzmann with the long-running London bass/drums partnership of John Edwards and Steve Noble. After the release of The Worse The Better, that group went on to play a series of devastating shows in Europe and to emerge as one of Brötzmann\'s finest working groups. Over the same period, Peter was developing a deep rapport with …
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The Quartet
Huge tip! It is a huge honour to announce the publication of Peter Brotzmann’s final concerts on Otoroku. When we invited Peter to do a residency at Cafe OTO back in February 2023 we had no idea these would be his last ever shows and he played with such power it would have been hard for anyone present to believe he would never play publicly again. Recorded over two nights this grouping of Jason Adasiewicz on vibraphone, John Edwards on bass and Steve Noble on drums feels especially resonant and …
Butterfly Mushroom
2nd Volume of the perfect pairing Brötzmann & Nilssen-Love! Recorded at Zuiderpershuis in Antwerp, August 2015. Liner notes-transcription of an interview with Peter Brötzmann.
Die Like a Dog (Fragments of Music, Life and Death of Albert Ayler)
Comes in a heavy gatedold sleeve and with printed innersleeves. Peter Brotzmann reflected: "The idea of expressing my love of and admiration for Albert Ayler - both man and music - in a musical statement is not new. We both tried to do similar or almost identical things at the same point in time, each independently and without knowing anything about each other - each of us within his own culture." This album was recorded in August 1993 during the Free Concerts series at Townhall Charlottenburg i…
Complete Link
Peter Brötzmann - tenor saxophone, tarogatoToshinori Kondo - trumpet, electronicsSabu Toyozumi - drums
Recorded live on October 2nd, 2016 at Roppongi Super Deluxe, Tokyo, Japan by Kunimitsu TsuburaiAll music by Peter Brötzmann, Toshinori Kondo and Sabu ToyozumiMastered by Arūnas Zujus at MAMAstudiosDesign by Oskaras AnosovasPhotos by Moto UeharaCover art by Sabu Toyozumi
Chicken Shit Bingo
Peter Brötzmann collaborated with many artists in his career, regularly adding new compatriots into the fold, and Norwegian drummer Paal Nilssen-Love became one of his staunchest allies after the percussionist joined the Chicago Tentet in 2004. They worked in various contexts, including this inexhaustible, hard-hitting duo. Most of the albums they’ve issued have captured live performances, but in 2015 they made this stunning studio recording. As Nilssen-Love says in the liner notes, “Peter had a…
Outspan No 1 + 2
Tip! The two recent Outspan 1 & 2 in a (slightly discounted) bundle. Joining their longstanding dedication to the back catalog of the legendary German imprint, FMP, Cien Fuegos returns with the first ever reissues of two towering artefacts of European free jazz / improvisation from the 1970s, the quartet of Peter Brötzmann, Han Bennink, Albert Mangelsdorff, and Fred Van Hove’s Outspan No 1, and the trio of Peter Brötzmann, Han Bennink, and Fred Van Hove’s Outspan No 2. Both recorded live in 1974…
Triangle - Live at OHM, 1987
Stunning performance by tenor sax titan Peter Brotzmann and incredible drummer Sabu Toyozumi. Recorded live on December 4th, 1987 at OHM, Koiwa, Tokyo, Japan by Ohm Hirosh
Outspan No 2
Tip! Recorded a month after Outspan No 1, this album offers up four more sonic delights from the core trio of Brötzmann, Van Hove, and Bennink. Rarely has free jazz/Euro improv/circus music/[your identifier here] sounded so unfettered and delightful -- adventurous without seeming self-serious, silly yet not without gravity. A must for any fan of these three maestros.
Outspan No 1
Tip! It's hard to imagine how this record -- and it's mate, Outspan No 2 -- managed to remain more or less out of circulation from the CD era onward. Outspan No 1 is nothing less than an ideal distillation of the broad approach to sound creation utilized by the three-ring circus that is Brötzmann, Van Hove, and Bennink, here with the added bonus of Mangelsdorff. Two short numbers, two long, too perfect.
The Dried Rat-Dog
*2023 stock* The Dried Rat-Dog is a free jazz energy wallop from the duo of multireedist Peter Brotzmann and percussionist Hamid Drake. It kicks off with the title track, a cavorting of saxophone and drums that tears off, speeding over the hills and through the woods with fierce intensity. Both musicians are in excellent form and incorporate all sorts of techniques from their vast respective vocabularies. The energy inverts for the next piece, "It's an Angel on the Door," as Brotzmann holds note…
The "Wels" Concert
*2023 stock* This live recording from a 1996 Austrian music festival is a powerful interaction of three musicians from different countries, each of whom have extraordinary improvisational abilities and deep, grounded technique. A somewhat unusual instrumentation is heard from this free jazz trio: German saxophonist Peter Brotzmann also performs on e-flat clarinet and tarogato (a Hungarian single-reed woodwind), American percussionist Hamid Drake plays a drum kit, a frame drum, and tablas, and Mo…
Stone/Water
Featuring Ken Vandermark & Mats Gustafsson. Recorded live at Victoriaville in May of 1999. Fantastic live material from a very unique group – the instantly-legendary meeting of reedman Peter Brotzmann with the leading lights of the Chicago avant jazz scene in the 90s – brought together into a tremendous tentet that's maybe even better than the sum of its parts! The group features Brotzmann on tenor and clarinet, Ken Vandermark on tenor and bass clarinet, Jeb Bishop on trombone, Fred Lomberg-Holm…
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Naked Nudes
Recorded at ADA in Peter Brötzmann’s hometown Wuppertal as part of his 80th birthday concerts, Naked Nudes brings together two of his most unusual collaborators, Heather Leigh (pedal steel guitar) and Fred Lonberg-Holm (cello) for one of the most elegiac releases in his discography. The relationships between the players are tonally odd: woozy, mournful, almost baroque blues or even more chamber music in feel, the quality of the interplay is subtle and natural, like modern ballads. In the recordi…
Schwarzwaldfahrt
In the spring of 1977, two musicians – Han Bennink and Peter Brötzmann – disappeared into the depths of a German deity named Dark Forest…
Lila Eule
* 2022 stock, few copies available * Recorded at Lila Eule, Bremen, Germany, November 1965. Published as a part of Stop Smiling, Issue 34 (2008)
Peter Brötzmann, alto saxophoneHorst Prehn, alto saxophonePeter Kowald, bassGerd Panzer, drums
Left / Right (Book)
Peter Brötzmann's catalog for an exhibition held at Corbett vs. Dempsey July 27 – August 17, 2013 Includes an essay by Jim Dempsey
Globe Unity
*Limited edition of 500 copies.* In 1966, pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach assembled his first large ensemble to play his compositions “Globe Unity” and “Sun.” This 14-piece band, which brought together some of the leading figures in European improvised music, would eventually expand – incorporating not only Europeans but also American and Asian musicians – and assume its rightful name: Globe Unity Orchestra. In its nascent outing, beautifully recorded at Ariola Studio in Cologne, Schlippenba…
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An Eternal Reminder of Not Today
At the Moers Festival 2018, OXBOW got together with Peter Brötzmann to deliver a memorable performance, bringing out the best of two legends in their very own genres while playing old and new Oxbow songs together.
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Dolunay
An absolute burner, the first ever vinyl pressing of “Dolunay” by the seminal Turkish ensemble Konstrukt's debut album with the legendary German free jazz saxophonist Peter Brötzmann
The Worse The Better
CD version. Recording of the stunning first set performed by the trio of Peter Brötzmann, Steve Noble and John Edwards at Cafe OTO in January 2010 during Brotzmann's first residency at the venue. This was also the first time the trio had played together. Recorded at Cafe OTO by Shane Browne, mixed by John Edwards and Mastered by Andres [LUPO] Lupich at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin.
"Does the world need another Brötzmann album? Probably not, but as the inaugural release on Cafe OTO's in-house hi…
The Intellect Given Birth to Here (Eternity) Is Too Young
Peter Brötzmann and Keiji Haino's first music on record together since 1996: two full concerts recorded in Los Angeles and San Francisco in 2018, on four LPs with art prints by both.
Solo + Trio Roma
*2022 stock* "The rhythm section is thunderous in general with Nilssen-Love providing polyrhythmic barrage fire to Brötzmann’s assaults. It is a vortex of sounds – some shrieking, others almost torn, spat, even puked – owing credits both to hardcore and to Dadaistic sound poems, sharing their free rhythms, their devoted declamation and their rejection of conventional form and content. Trio Roma is a supremely passionate and committed group." -Martin Schray, Free Jazz Blog
Instant Composers Pool
**2025 Stock. Very last copies** A Monumental 52 CD + 2DVD + photo-book box (Every box is numbered and unique because Han Bennink himself painted each copy by hand! ) to celebrate 45 years of Instant Composers Pool - and worldwide delivery is included! "Improvisation is like daily life... like crossing a street" - says Han Bennink. The ensemble of the Instant Composers Pool, or ICP, improvises for 45 years now on the highest level. "These guys can swing like madmen and then all of a sudden play…
Jazz in der Kammer 1974
The first concert of Brötzmann / Van Hove / Bennink in East Germany – 4.11.1974, Deutsches Theater, Berlin recorded by the Radio for the series "Jazz in der Kammer" Nr 71. Linernotes by Bert Noglik, Translation by Jep Bishop.
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Ultraman vs. Alien Metron
Tip! In the first years of its existence, starting in 1997, the Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet worked as a collective, inviting all and any of its participants to contribute compositions to the band's repertoire. Eventually, the Tentet would jettison scores and pre-planned structures altogether, opting for free improvisation, but on their early tours and initial recordings they played pieces written by the various band members. A marathon set of summer studio sessions in 2002, just off a U.S. …
3 Points And A Mountain
"A real cause for celebration. A performance distinguished by gleeful energy and audacious dada wit. It possesses a vigor of discovery and invention that makes it sound timeless." - Cadence "A great and enjoyable session from three of the most creative and unique musicians in European avant-garde music." - All Music Guide"Wonderful, intoxicating stuff. Together theses three troubadours tiptoe exaggeratedly through pastiches of bop, cabaret, baroque, and lounge, and work through dozens of mood ch…
Historic Music Past Tense Future
Black Editions presents “Historic Music Past Tense Future”, the first ever album to feature the meeting of Peter Brötzmann, Milford Graves and William Parker. Three of the towering figures in the history of Free Jazz forge an incredibly vital free music born from lifetimes of uncompromising, ceaseless artistry. “Historic Music Past Tense Future” is the inaugural release by Black Editions Archive and the first in a series of records that will present previously unreleased works featuring Milford …
Be! Jazz / FMP reissues
* small repress available*This special bundle collects the latest Be! Jazz / FMP vinyl represses, namely the following three LP:
Globe Unity Orchestra and Guests "Pearl" (1977)Brötzmann / Oliver / Kellers feat. Manfred Schoof "In a State of Undress" (1989)I.C.P. Tentet "In Berlin" (1979)Globe Unity Orchestra and Guests "Pearl" (1977)
**Edition of 200 copies.** For fans of European free jazz, Globe Unity Orchestra needs little introduction. The project is nothing short of legendary, carving a pat…
