Peter Brötzmann - Catching Ghosts (CD)

Release Date: 06/09/23Free expression and Gnaouan blues: A historic concert by iconic reedist Peter Brötzmann, Moroccan Gnaoua adept Majid Bekkas and drummer Hamid Drake.'Catching Ghosts' by revered, iconoclastic 81-year-old reedist Peter Brötzmann with Moroccan Gnaoua adept Majid Bekkas playing two-stringed, camelskin-backed guembre and Chicago-bred drummer Hamid Drake, proves that 'free' spontaneous interactions deriving power from age-old traditions can transcend cultural lines. Improvising on incantations from Gnaoua liturgy, Brötzmann's horn cries as summons and statement; Drake's drums awaken inner impulses; Bekkas' strings, plucked and strummed, tie it all together, and his voice brings the song home. But this is no lucky success: The music is vital due to its players' career-long practice, their knowledge of heritage, and belief the past must always be reinterpreted, renewed.American jazz giants have jammed with Gnaouans, but for Brötzmann, Europe's exemplar of unfettered bl