Peter Brötzmann: Free-Jazz, Revolution and the Politics of Improvisation

by Daniel Spicer

Explores the heroic life and revolutionary music of the pioneering German saxophonist, and the radical social and political convictions that informed them.Peter Brötzmann is the first ever, full-length, English-language biography of one of the most fascinating and inspiring personalities in the history of Western improvised music – and one of the key artistic figures to emerge from the socio-cultural tumult of the 1960s.Drawing on extensive interviews with Brötzmann and key associates, it traces the German saxophonist’s crucial role as a pioneer of European free jazz, his restless travels and collaborations and his eventual superstardom, examining the life and work of a fiercely uncompromising artist with a reputation for gruff intensity and total commitment.Digging deep into the history and aesthetics of free jazz in Europe and beyond, it provides detailed analysis of music by Brötzmann and other major figures, while positioning Brötzmann’s work – and the wider free jazz milieu – in the context of the revolutionary left-wing, humanist and utopian ideals that inspired and underpinned it.Both intimate and wide-ranging, it tells the story of a man and a music that changed the world.

Genres: Music

352 pages, Paperback

Published January 14, 2025

Reviews

[Cailleach · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a treat to read. I got a little emotional at the end.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love music bios as long as I'm tangentially into the artist. Wasn't super familiar with Brotzmann but am familiar with Spicer's writing in The Wire, so knew this would be well researched and written. It managed to describe the music without relying staple terms (or the word Skronk, I don't think) and got me to check out a handful of his releases.

[Wesley Harden · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the most unabashedly singular artists in the canon of art. His altissimo squeals and guttural squawks will live in the memory of the countless individuals he has touched. Brötzmann was a zeppelin of original thought and oneness with artistic preoccupation. He knew what this all means.

“We both know the world is full of ignorants and stupidos, one more or less, who cares.”

-Brötzmann

[N · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent overview of Brotzmann's life and the rise of Free Jazz, an interesting take on another side of jazz history since the 1960s.

[Jacob]

Hero