Peter Brötzmann
Peter Brötzmann came to prominence in the European jazz scene of the 1960s, establishing himself by the end of the decade as the dominant voice of the saxophone in the avant-garde spheres. In the context of the political divides of postwar Europe, Brötzmann powerful, incendiary voice on his instrument resonated deeply. His self-developed technique maximizes every possibility for personal inflection on his instruments, going well past the usual limits of commonly accepted styles. In terms of volume, range, breadth of tone, vibrato, and intensity, he creates music that obliterates the rules of genre and puts the listener in new realms of discovery, vulnerability, and feeling. Amazingly, he has been able to pair this approach with very different types of musicians, and found musical homes with the more cerebral British avant-garde, the “New Dutch Swing” of the Instant Composers Pool, the roots-oriented free jazz of New York, the younger musicians of the current Chicago scene, and various noise/rock groups. Brötzmann extensive discography shows a boundary-less collaborative spirit, and his example has ignited and energized the geographic and stylistic scenes in which he has involved himself. He has appeared on well over two hundred recordings, & performed & recorded with nearly every major figure in free jazz and improvised music of the last fifty years, including Cecil Taylor, Don Cherry, William Parker, Hamid Drake, Anthony Braxton, Joe McPhee, Sonny Sharrock, Han Bennink, Keiji Haino, and Ginger Baker. As a trained and recognized visual artist Brötzmann does much of his own album artwork & has a long history of producing his own records, pre-dating the do-it-yourself aesthetic of punk rock and current trends of self-production by decades. Former POTUS Bill Clinton called Brötzmann “one of the greatest alive.” (2001 Oxford American Music Issue).
Born is Boston, Massachusetts in 1953, Donald Robinson first studied classical percussion at the New England Conservatory. In the early 1970's he served his musical apprenticeship in the jazz world of Paris, studying with Kenny Clarke and playing with Alan Silva, Anthony Braxton, Oliver Lake and Bobby Few among many others. His longest musical association, dating from the 1970's, was with legendary Bay Area tenor saxophonist Glenn Spearman, an association which continued through various configurations and many recordings until the saxophonist's death in 1998. Described as a 'percussive dervish' (Coda), Robinson is a technical master of the drums & a long-time stalwart of the Bay Area avant-garde jazz scene, having played and recorded with Marco Eneidi, Eddie Gale, Larry Ochs, Cecil Taylor, John Tchicai, and the celebrated ‘spiritual jazz’ group The Pyramids. He is currently playing in many configurations with a broad range of musicians throughout the world.
Keiji Haino
Keiji Haino (?? ?? Haino Keiji) born May 3, 1952 in Chiba, Japan, and currently residing in Kawagoe, is a Japanese musician and singer-songwriter whose work has included rock, free improvisation, noise music, percussion, psychedelic music, minimalism and drone music. He has been active since the 1970s and continues to record regularly and in new styles.
Haino's initial artistic outlet was theatre, inspired by the radical writings of Antonin Artaud. An epiphanic moment came when he heard The Doors' "When The Music's Over" and changed course towards music. After brief stints in a number of blues and experimental outfits, he formed improvised rock band Lost Aaraaf in 1970. In the mid 1970s, having left Lost Aaraaf, he collaborated with psychedelic multi-instrumentalist Magical Power Mako. His musical output throughout the late 1970s is scarcely documented, until the formation of his rock duo Fushitsusha in 1978 (although their first LP did not surface until 1989).
NHK, Japan's national broadcaster, banned him from broadcast from 1973 to 2013.
Other groups Haino has formed include Vajra (with underground folk singer Kan Mikami and drummer Toshiaki Ishizuka), Knead (with the avant-prog outfit Ruins), Sanhedolin (with Yoshida Tatsuya of Ruins and Mitsuru Nasuno of Korekyojinn, Altered States and Ground Zero) and a solo project called Nijiumu. He has also collaborated with many artists, including Faust, Boris, Derek Bailey, Joey Baron, Peter Brötzmann, Lee Konitz, Loren Mazzacane Connors, Charles Gayle, Earl Kuck, Bill Laswell, Musica Transonic, Stephen O'Malley, Makigami Koichi, Ayuo, Merzbow, Oren Ambarchi, Jim O'Rourke, John Zorn, Yamantaka Eye, John Duncan, Fred Frith, Charles Hayward and John Butcher.
His main instruments of choice have been guitar and vocals, with many other instruments and approaches incorporated into his career's work. Haino is known for intensely cathartic sound explorations, and despite the fact that much of his work contains varied instrumentation and accompaniment, he retains a distinctive style. Haino cites a broad range of influences, including troubadour music, Marlene Dietrich, Iannis Xenakis, Blue Cheer, Syd Barrett, and Charlie Parker. At a young age, he had an epiphany through his introduction to The Doors. His recent foray into DJing at Tokyo nightclubs has reportedly reflected his eclectic taste. He has had a long love affair with early blues music, particularly the works of Blind Lemon Jefferson, and is heavily inspired by the Japanese musical concept of "Ma", the silent spaces in music (see Taiko for more information). In a 2012 interview with Time Out Tokyo, he described his approach as "defying the notion that you can't create something from nothing." He also has a keen interest in Butoh dancing and collecting ethnic instruments.
Haino's distinctive style extends to his lifestyle: he has sported the same long hair, black clothes and sunglasses throughout his career, and is a strict vegetarian who has refrained from alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs for his entire life.
Peter Brötzmann
Peter Brötzmann came to prominence in the European jazz scene of the 1960s, establishing himself by the end of the decade as the dominant voice of the saxophone in the avant-garde spheres. In the context of the political divides of postwar Europe, Brötzmann powerful, incendiary voice on his instrument resonated deeply. His self-developed technique maximizes every possibility for personal inflection on his instruments, going well past the usual limits of commonly accepted styles. In terms of volume, range, breadth of tone, vibrato, and intensity, he creates music that obliterates the rules of genre and puts the listener in new realms of discovery, vulnerability, and feeling. Amazingly, he has been able to pair this approach with very different types of musicians, and found musical homes with the more cerebral British avant-garde, the “New Dutch Swing” of the Instant Composers Pool, the roots-oriented free jazz of New York, the younger musicians of the current Chicago scene, and various noise/rock groups. Brötzmann extensive discography shows a boundary-less collaborative spirit, and his example has ignited and energized the geographic and stylistic scenes in which he has involved himself. He has appeared on well over two hundred recordings, & performed & recorded with nearly every major figure in free jazz and improvised music of the last fifty years, including Cecil Taylor, Don Cherry, William Parker, Hamid Drake, Anthony Braxton, Joe McPhee, Sonny Sharrock, Han Bennink, Keiji Haino, and Ginger Baker. As a trained and recognized visual artist Brötzmann does much of his own album artwork & has a long history of producing his own records, pre-dating the do-it-yourself aesthetic of punk rock and current trends of self-production by decades. Former POTUS Bill Clinton called Brötzmann “one of the greatest alive.” (2001 Oxford American Music Issue).
Born is Boston, Massachusetts in 1953, Donald Robinson first studied classical percussion at the New England Conservatory. In the early 1970's he served his musical apprenticeship in the jazz world of Paris, studying with Kenny Clarke and playing with Alan Silva, Anthony Braxton, Oliver Lake and Bobby Few among many others. His longest musical association, dating from the 1970's, was with legendary Bay Area tenor saxophonist Glenn Spearman, an association which continued through various configurations and many recordings until the saxophonist's death in 1998. Described as a 'percussive dervish' (Coda), Robinson is a technical master of the drums & a long-time stalwart of the Bay Area avant-garde jazz scene, having played and recorded with Marco Eneidi, Eddie Gale, Larry Ochs, Cecil Taylor, John Tchicai, and the celebrated ‘spiritual jazz’ group The Pyramids. He is currently playing in many configurations with a broad range of musicians throughout the world.
Keiji Haino
Keiji Haino (?? ?? Haino Keiji) born May 3, 1952 in Chiba, Japan, and currently residing in Kawagoe, is a Japanese musician and singer-songwriter whose work has included rock, free improvisation, noise music, percussion, psychedelic music, minimalism and drone music. He has been active since the 1970s and continues to record regularly and in new styles.
Haino's initial artistic outlet was theatre, inspired by the radical writings of Antonin Artaud. An epiphanic moment came when he heard The Doors' "When The Music's Over" and changed course towards music. After brief stints in a number of blues and experimental outfits, he formed improvised rock band Lost Aaraaf in 1970. In the mid 1970s, having left Lost Aaraaf, he collaborated with psychedelic multi-instrumentalist Magical Power Mako. His musical output throughout the late 1970s is scarcely documented, until the formation of his rock duo Fushitsusha in 1978 (although their first LP did not surface until 1989).
NHK, Japan's national broadcaster, banned him from broadcast from 1973 to 2013.
Other groups Haino has formed include Vajra (with underground folk singer Kan Mikami and drummer Toshiaki Ishizuka), Knead (with the avant-prog outfit Ruins), Sanhedolin (with Yoshida Tatsuya of Ruins and Mitsuru Nasuno of Korekyojinn, Altered States and Ground Zero) and a solo project called Nijiumu. He has also collaborated with many artists, including Faust, Boris, Derek Bailey, Joey Baron, Peter Brötzmann, Lee Konitz, Loren Mazzacane Connors, Charles Gayle, Earl Kuck, Bill Laswell, Musica Transonic, Stephen O'Malley, Makigami Koichi, Ayuo, Merzbow, Oren Ambarchi, Jim O'Rourke, John Zorn, Yamantaka Eye, John Duncan, Fred Frith, Charles Hayward and John Butcher.
His main instruments of choice have been guitar and vocals, with many other instruments and approaches incorporated into his career's work. Haino is known for intensely cathartic sound explorations, and despite the fact that much of his work contains varied instrumentation and accompaniment, he retains a distinctive style. Haino cites a broad range of influences, including troubadour music, Marlene Dietrich, Iannis Xenakis, Blue Cheer, Syd Barrett, and Charlie Parker. At a young age, he had an epiphany through his introduction to The Doors. His recent foray into DJing at Tokyo nightclubs has reportedly reflected his eclectic taste. He has had a long love affair with early blues music, particularly the works of Blind Lemon Jefferson, and is heavily inspired by the Japanese musical concept of "Ma", the silent spaces in music (see Taiko for more information). In a 2012 interview with Time Out Tokyo, he described his approach as "defying the notion that you can't create something from nothing." He also has a keen interest in Butoh dancing and collecting ethnic instruments.
Haino's distinctive style extends to his lifestyle: he has sported the same long hair, black clothes and sunglasses throughout his career, and is a strict vegetarian who has refrained from alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs for his entire life.
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