In the spirit ofPeter Brötzmann
BRAND! DAG 4 - I.s.m. Sound in Motion
This final day of BRAND! - ‘In the spirit of Peter Brötzmann’ - is not just a tribute to jazz and improvisation icon Peter Brötzmann (1941-2023). Together with a group of artists, we will explore how far his legacy extends. Four concerts, a book presentation and a film will be used to assess how influential Brötzmann was and how his legacy can continue to inspire generations.
PROGRAMMA:
14u FILM (Cinema Lumière)
Soldier of the Road - A Portrait of Peter Brötzmann (Bernard Josse, 2011, 93min, English subtitles)
16u BOOK PRESENTATION
Daniel Spicer - Free-Jazz, Revolution and the Politics of Improvisation. Talk with the author and a few musicians about Peter Brötzmann and his legacy.
CONCERTS:
17u Hanne De Backer / Casper Van De Velde
20u Cel Overberghe / Ornella Noulet / Adia Vanheerentals
21u Farida Amadou / Julien Desprez
22u Evan Parker / Camille Émaille
A ticket allows you to experience the full programme.
From 18h until 20h, there will also be a Sound in Motion food stand!
German reed player and visual artist Peter Brötzmann (1941-2023) was one of the radical innovators of the second half of the 20th century. One of the crucial pioneers of free jazz and free music in Europe, he was active for more than half a century. His legendary sound - often harsh, blood raw, uncompromising - was notorious all over the world. So was his stubbornness. But despite all that volume and sometimes ferocious screaming on those instruments, it is impossible to limit yourself to that. Brötzmann was part of a generation of artists looking for a tabula rasa in post-war Germany, and his influence extended far beyond music.
He was involved in the international Fluxus movement as a visual artist and would also build an international network as a musician. He had an ethos of relentless touring that was later adopted by numerous punk bands. Brötzmann was also a forerunner of the DIY movement. If you wanted to achieve something, you didn't wait for it to fall into your lap. As he himself put it, ‘Nothing in this world is free. You use your elbows and make a little more room for yourself that way.’ He gave unvarnished opinions, about his surroundings and his art. He went for total surrender and in this he was consistent. If a band was finished, he put a stop to it. He could be merciless about tameness, about lack of motivation. It bothered him that a lot of young talents emerged, only to disappear again.
On this day, however, we give the stage to some veterans, contemporaries of Brötzmann, as well as young artists who have the perseverance and personality to make a difference. Each of them is now on a promising and strong course in a world of free and other unusual music. Together they tell a musical story that is inevitably indebted to Brötzmann, but at the same time explores uncharted territory, where their own ideas and baggage count. He wouldn't have wanted it any other way.
Participating artists
Evan Parker (UK)
Absolute legend of improvised music. Was there on Brötzmann's legendary Machine Gun (1968), and subsequently developed an unprecedented career, with long-term projects (such as the trio with Barry Guy and Paul Lytton, still in great form at the Summer Bummer Festival this summer) and countless collaborations with musicians from various disciplines. Possesses phenomenal control over extended techniques, which has allowed him to significantly expand the range of sounds and possibilities of his instruments.
Camille Emaille (FR)
Classically trained percussionist who was apprenticed to Fred Frith, Roscoe Mitchell and William Winant, among others, but then interrupted her studies to travel the world. She has a physical relationship with sound and, through improvised and other music, searches for the place where energy, concentration and listening are so strongly activated that self-awareness dissolves.
Farida Amadou (B)
Became a central player of Belgian experimental music in no time at all. She played with punk band Cocaine Piss, quickly formed an alliance with drummer Steve Noble and performed with Thurston Moore, Moor Mother, Heather Leigh and Peter Brötzmann. Recently released solo album When It Rains, It Pours (Week-End Records). On it, she further explores the possibilities of her bass guitar, with an approach that is as subtle as it is daring.
Julien Desprez (F)
One of the most original guitarists of the moment. Considers his instrument as a battery, an organ, an instrument to be deployed according to his ideas of the moment. Through effects pedals and other interventions, he opens up the possibilities of sound and physical environment on his instrument. Constantly moving between corporeality and futurism. Has played a.o. with Charlie Haden, Mats Gustafsson, Tortoise, Han Bennink and Eve Risser.
Cel Overberghe (B)
Visual artist, poet and saxophonist. He stood at the cradle of free jazz and free improvisation in Belgium. For instance, he can be heard on several recordings with Fred Van Hove and was closely involved in the Werkgroep Improviserende Musici (WIM). In his long career, he also played other styles such as swing and bebop. Recently, he played a stunning concert with legendary American saxophonist Joe McPhee.
Adia Vanheerentals (B)
Antwerp-based saxophonist and composer active in various disciplines. Founder of the bands Bodem, Vanheerentals / Lasure / Beeckaert and Waarlijk. Collaborated on Femke Gyselinck's dance production Change Of Plans (in 2023 in nona) and she is one of Klara's ‘Twintigers’ this year. Recently released the solo release Here Are 5 Reasons To Meditate via Ultra Eczema by Dennis Tyfus
Ornella Noulet (FR)
Young French saxophonist who combines a love of modal jazz with a dedication to free music and sound research. She is currently based in Brussels, where she plays with Ola Tunji, among others. She first performed with Overberghe and Vanheerentals at the past Summer Bummer Festival and recently debuted on the respected US label Relative Pitch with solo album Promise of Faithfulness.
Hanne De Backer (B)
This reed player has quickly become a fixture in adventurous European jazz & improvisation. Part of collective La Nuée and underground band Condor Gruppe, she has played with The Ex and Paal Nilssen-Love, among others. Founder of g a b b r o, with which she explores the relationship between free music and various locations. This has resulted in several well-received albums and the film performance As We Walk.
Casper Van De Velde (B)
Created a furore at a young age as one half of schntzl. Since then, he has grown into a drummer who has become an indispensable part of Belgian jazz and pop, playing with, among others, Donder, Vitja Pauwels' Early Life Forms, Bombataz and the An Pierlé Quartet. Also active in music theatre, with the duo Schreel Van De Velde (at 13.11 in nona) and his solo project Simba. Is now working with Hanne De Backer on a new, multidisciplinary g a b b r o adventure.
Daniel Spicer (UK)
Music journalist, radio producer, improviser and poet from Brighton. Writes for The Wire, Jazzwise, Songlines, WeJazz and The Quietus. He is the author of The Turkish Psychedelic Music Explosion: Anadolu Psych (1965-1980) and Peter Brötzmann: Free-Jazz, Revolution And The Politics Of Improvisation, the first English-language biography on Peter Brötzmann (publication: January 2025). We discuss the icon with him and some musicians.
14h Film in Cinema Lumière
Soldier of the Road: A Portrait of Peter Brötzmann (Bernard Josse, 2011, 93min)
Unmissable portrait of European jazz legend and reed player Peter Brötzmann (1941-2023), who incorporated the influence of American free jazz into an incendiary, energetic music that continues to have an immense impact on fans of punk, noise and free experimentation. Central to this is Brötzmann's volcanic sound, which remained intact into his final years of life.
‘I wanted to film that sound,’ Bernard Josse said of his film portrait of Brötzmann. The director was particularly keen to find out where Brötzmann's famous energy came from: ‘The central question for the film was: how could these musicians generate so much energy? How could it persist? Peter was always searching and transforming. He never became complacent, kept exploring new paths. He was a true creator.’ Soldier of the Road features fantastic footage, candid interviews with Brötzmann and features prominent artists he worked with, such as Evan Parker, Han Bennink and Ken Vandermark, at length.
16u Book presentation
Daniel Spicer - Free-Jazz, Revolution and the Politics of Improvisation. Talk with the auther and some musicians about Peter Brötzmann and his legacy.
"Peter Brötzmann 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."
