Jazz legend Peter Brötzmann dies aged 82
German jazz pioneer Peter Brötzmann, known for his immense contributions to the European jazz scene, passed away at the age of 82.
Although Brötzmann was initially involved with painting, he became disillusioned with the contemporary artistic landscape. After watching a performance by Sidney Bechet, he was inspired to teach himself to play instruments like the saxophone and the clarinet.
When asked about his first recording, For Adolphe Sax, during a conversation with Psychedelic Baby Mag, Brötzmann said: “There was no label interested, but our audience was growing, and of course, I was convinced that people should listen to what we had to say.”
He added: “From Karl Marx, we had learned that the worker shouldn’t give the tool and product out of his hand, and so I started my own company, which turned out to be a little successful, which means I didn’t lose money, and we were able to spread out the music over the (western) world. Some years later, I founded, together with my friend Jost Gebers, the Free Music Production in Berlin.”
Often associated with European free jazz, Brötzmann will always be regarded as a true pioneer of the field. However, in some ways, he rejected the term. The musician said: “There is nothing like that in the field of music and in life, nothing in this world is ‘free’. You just spread your elbows and make a bit more space for yourself.”
According to his collaborator Heather Leigh as well as his label Trost, Brötzmann passed away peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday night at his residence in Wuppertal, Germany.
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