Live at Nefertiti

by Steven LoewyThis is excellent Brotzmann through and through, captured live at a nightclub in Sweden in early 1999. The saxophonist is in top form, direct, powerful, and charged by the backing of Swedish drummer Peeter Uuskyla and Danish electric guitarist Peter Friis Nielsen. This is clearly the saxophonist's show, and he never disappoints, exploding out of the gate from the first number and rarely relenting. This is the proverbial music of ecstasy, transcending all notions of harmony and melody and virtually lifting the listener to an almost transcendental state. Well recorded, with more than 70 minutes of concert time, Brotzmann growls, screeches, howls, and never lets go, like a man possessed. A logical extension of the music of Albert Ayler, Brotzmann pours forth a fountain, nay, a stream, of seemingly never-ending ideas. Even when the volume occasionally subsides, he leaves little in his wake, his full tone filling up the room. Subtlety is blown to the wind, and while his god may be Dionysus, the technical skill with which he achieves his results is grounded in the severest regimens of self-discipline and practice.