Thursday, March 28, 2013

DIE LIKE A DOG QUARTET – Little Birds Have Fast Hearts - No. 1 (1998)



Label: FMP – FMP CD 97 
Format: CD, Album; Country: Germany - Released: 1998 
Style: Free Jazz, Free Improvisation
Recorded during the "30th TOTAL MUSIC MEETING" on November 7/8, 1997 at the "Podewil" in Berlin
Design – Brötzmann
Photography By – Dagmar Gebers, Tony Getsug
Producer – Jost Gebers, Peter Brötzmann
Recorded By – Holger Scheuermann, Jonas Bergler






The Die Like a Dog Quartet came together four years after recording their first album for the 30th Total Music Meeting festival in Berlin that took place in November 1997. The sets that the quartet performed over the course of the three day festival were subsequently released by the FMP label in two volumes entitled Little Birds Have Fast Hearts. Peter Brötzmann plays tenor, of course, as well as some tarogato and clarinet, and he is joined by bassist Wiliam Parker, drummer Hamid Drake, and trumpeter Toshinori Kondo who occasionally utilizes electronic effects. On this first volume, the quartet is in it for the long run; there are just two parts, totaling over an hours' worth of music. They go long, but not without pause, for there are definite let-ups over the course of "Part 1" (which remains engaging and varied throughout its 45 minutes), and "Part 2" is a relatively low-key piece. But "calm" and "low- key" for this group are still strongly out; there is no "casual" mode, there is no collapsing into old forms, this is a work-out, and all four musicians give 100 percent as they are known to do. This is not music for people wanting to hear some nice jazz, some hum-along-able standards; this is music for listeners who want to take a journey and are willing to let this quartet steer. The Die Like a Dog Quartet is not improvising for an audience, they are improvising because. Because that is how you find music. Little Birds Have Fast Hearts, No. 1 is a great example of why that is important.

_ By JOSLYN LAYNE, All Nusic Guide



Links in Comments!

7 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can not see the links.

      Delete
    2. I wiped the link, all FMP albums again are available in digital form via:
      https://destination-out.bandcamp.com/

      Delete
  2. The Die like a dog recordings are essential for all the Brotzmann followers,althoug they are part of my Little collection, is good to see them here in you fantastic and always surprisig blog.

    Thanks Vitko, keep the good work.
    Never enough Brotz

    Roman

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    Replies
    1. Hi Roman,

      I totally agree with you. Never enough Brötzmann.

      But ...

      I keep thinking that Brötzmann significant recordings have almost everyone who likes this kind of jazz, so I'm hesitant to publish his records, and the problem is also that it is rather Brötz published on other blogs.

      If you want to help me, write a few titles you would like to see on this blog.

      Regards

      Delete
  3. Vitko,
    If i'd have the opportunity to choose the records i'd like to listen to, i go for the recent works i've seen in the free jazz blog by stef. To mention a few of them: Goosetalks with Mikolaj Trzaska and Johannes Bauer, Yatagarasu with the great Takeo Moriyama and Masahiko Satoh and other with The Improvising ensemble of Qianxingzha, live in China. I also think in not so easy to choose the records to be posted as there are many titles in other blogs, but let the other followers of the blog help.

    As always, thank you.

    Best regards

    ReplyDelete