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Brötzmann, Schlippenbach & Bennink
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Brötzmann, Schlippenbach & Bennink · This trio consists of three key figures of European free jazz: the German saxophonist and clarinettist Peter Brötzmann, the German pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach and the Dutch drummer Han Bennink. Brötzmann was born in 1941 in Remscheid, studied painting in Wuppertal and came into contact with Fluxus. A concert by Sidney Bechet made a great impression on him, as did the music of Miles Davis and John Coltrane. He taught himself to play clarinet and saxophone and designed most of his sleeves himself. He died in Wuppertal in 2023.
Music and breakthrough
His album Machine Gun from 1968, an octet recording, was released on his own label and sold at concerts. It is regarded as a milestone of twentieth-century free jazz. He got the nickname Machine Gun from Don Cherry, to describe his violent style of playing. Han Bennink played on Nipples from 1969 and later became his regular partner, and Brötzmann was a member of Bennink's Instant Composers Pool. In 1977 they recorded the duo album Schwarzwaldfahrt together in the Black Forest, with Bennink also hitting trees and other objects. Schlippenbach played on the album Alarm in 1981.
Influence
Fifty Years After from 2018 brings the three together again. The trio stands for a jazz in which listening matters more than agreements, and in which energy, humour and sound itself are the subject.
Listening
Fifty Years After · Brötzmann, Schlippenbach & Bennink, 2018