Peter Brötzmann / Majid Bekkas / Hamid Drake - Catching Ghosts

 By William Rossi

It feels so wrong and so weird to speak of Brötzmann in the past tense; he was one of those people whose presence in the music scene I always took for granted, thinking he would always be there somehow, but Brötzmann himself never made that same mistake and never took himself for granted: he never stopped growing, exploring and experimenting, even in his old age he kept challenging the listener and, most importantly, himself. 

One can't help but form a mental image of the man who brought us such fiery, loud and disruptive records as Machine Gun but something that's always been overlooked is just how versatile he could be. His playing was not just fire and brimstone, he was also capable of creating delicate, beautiful and fragile pieces of music, something he's demonstrated time and time again on some of his solo recordings and his artistic partnership with Heather Leigh, one of the highlights of the later part of his career.

Catching Ghosts is, I think, the last non-posthumous album of his to have ever been released and it showcases yet another adventure into unknown lands for him to embark in, accompanied by Hamid Drake's expert and always tasteful drumming and Majid Bekkas' soaring vocals and guembri, a beautiful West African instrument whose sound is somewhere in between a double bass and an oud, rhythmic and melodic at the same time, its interplay with the drums the highlight of the album. 

 

Together the trio tackles songs from the Gnawa musical tradition, turning them into jams for Brötzmann to solo over. He never over-does it and never steals the scene, never forgetting the songs at the core of the improvisation and working in service of them first and foremost. The music is driving, energetic and spiritual and the trio is in constant lockstep, never stumbling or skipping a beat; it's one of those records where you can almost picture the musicians on stage performing while listening to it, making you feel like you're in the audience and giving you the same energy and electricity you would feel had you been there.

Brötzmann's ability to always keep you on your toes, never knowing what he might do next is the thing I'll miss the most about him. He wasn't a free jazz musician, a free improvisation musician or an avant-garde musician, he just played music, in its totality, with no regards for labels or genre tropes but with a deep knowledge and respect for the people who laid the groundwork before him. 

I remember an interview in which he talked about his love for the blues, having listened to it since he was a child, but he wasn't simply enamoured with the 12 bars, rather "the person behind them", their musical voice and identity. We have lost a giant, but his voice has inspired many people and will continue to do so, that's what makes "the greats" the greats, and this album is a great listen and a fitting farewell from a man with uncompromising vision and relentless passion for music as a whole. 

Released on CD by ACT.