Peter Brotzmann?s music is anything but mainstream, and it certainly isn?t for everyone.
But fans of his work and the European Free Jazz movement will no doubt gather en masse this Friday evening at the Red Room to hear his unorthodox approach to a genre that has often been referred to as “sonic terror.”
Red Room co-owner John Berndt, who has booked Brotzmann at his 50-seat venue twice before, has described the trio as “rock level with elements of jazz, over-the-top and raw.”
Brotzmann, on tenor saxophone, performs with Marino Pliakas on electric bass and Michael Wertmuller at the drums.
“This group is essentially [Brotzmann?s] 21st-century power trio,” booking agent Bernard Lyons said. “If you hear his acoustic groups and are left dazed, you must experience the electrified version.”
Peter Brotzmann has played his music since the early 1960s. The Germany native became involved with “free jazz” music that developed in the 1950s and 1960s by artists such as Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor. Good examples of the genre ? where musicians attempt to break down or extend the conventions of jazz ? are the later works of influential composer John Coltrane.
Free jazz players were said either to play “outside” or “out,” as opposed to “inside,” or conventionally. While free improvisation remains a key feature of the music, many former distinctive features of jazz, such as fixed chord changes or tempos, have been abandoned.
Brotzmann?s numerous recordings include an album released in 1968, “Machine Gun,” an octet project that jazz aficionados consider among the most notable free jazz albums to this day.
The Red Room is dedicated to experimental music, non-idiomatic or new music that “doesn?t fall into a known category,” Berndt said.
As for theevening?s program, Berndt answers honestly, “I don?t know. Theirs is experimental music based on uncertainty and improvisation. [Brotzmann] presents a music personality rather than a repertoire; it?s about getting him rather than the tunes.”
IF YOU GO
Creative Differences presents Peter Brotzmann Free Jazz Trio
» Venue: Red Room, 425 E. 31st St., Baltimore
» When: 8 and 9:30 p.m. Friday
» Tickets: $12
» More Info: 410-243-6888
