WTF?! Wednesdays: Peter Brotzmann and Nasheet Waits Duo at UMass Amherst (2005)

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I’ve been a big fan of saxophonist Peter Brotzmann for years. During my early JazzSnob™ phase, I read about him in a fan forum and stopped by Tower Records, seeking a copy of Fuck De Boere, which nearly blew the top of my head clean off.

After many years of Brotzmann record collecting, I finally got a chance to see the man play live last year at a local music festival. I was impressed with the telepathic interplay between Brotzmann and fellow noise-merchant Joe McPhee. But what really blew my mind was Brotzmann’s volume. We were sitting about 70 feet away and the amount of sound coming from that man’s horn, unamplified, was kind of scary. I don’t know how he does it.

What follows is a duet between Brotzman and drummer extraordinaire Nasheet Waits. Brotzmann plays it coy at first with a short segment of bluesy and pensive phrasing. Don’t be fooled, as the saxophone volcano will soon appear. And look at the guy…he seems like such a nice man!


Mark Saleski