Barry Altschul
Encyclopedia
Barry Altschul is a free jazz
drummer
who gained fame in the late 1960s with the pianist
s Paul Bley
and Chick Corea
.
's trio. In 1969 he joined with Chick Corea
, Dave Holland
and Anthony Braxton
to form the group Circle
. At the time, he made use of a high-pitched Gretsch
kit with add-on drums and percussion instruments, which he integrated seamlessly in a whirlwind of sound.
In the 1970s Altschul worked extensively with Anthony Braxton's quartet featuring Kenny Wheeler
, Dave Holland
, and George Lewis
. Braxton, signed to Arista Records, was able to secure a large enough budget to tour with a collection of dozens of percussion instruments, strings and winds. In addition to his participation in ensembles featuring avant garde musicians, Altschul performed with Lee Konitz, Art Pepper
and other "straight ahead" jazz performers.
Altschul also made albums as a leader, but after the mid-1980s he was rarely seen in concert or on record, spending much of his time in Europe. Recently, he has become more visible, with two sideman appearances on the CIMP label with the FAB trio (with Billy Bang
and Joe Fonda
), the Jon Irabagon Trio recording "Foxy", and the bassist Adam Lane. Altschul has played or recorded with many musicians, including Roswell Rudd
, Dave Liebman
, Andrew Hill
, Sonny Criss
, Hampton Hawes
, and Lee Konitz
.
With Chick Corea
With Dave Holland
With Julius Hemphill
With Andrew Hill
With John Lindberg
With Sam Rivers
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
who gained fame in the late 1960s with the pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
s Paul Bley
Paul Bley
Paul Bley, CM is a pianist known for his contributions to the free jazz movement of the 1960s as well as his innovations and influence on trio playing.-Biography:...
and Chick Corea
Chick Corea
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...
.
Biography
His first major gig in the late 1960s was with Paul BleyPaul Bley
Paul Bley, CM is a pianist known for his contributions to the free jazz movement of the 1960s as well as his innovations and influence on trio playing.-Biography:...
's trio. In 1969 he joined with Chick Corea
Chick Corea
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...
, Dave Holland
Dave Holland
Dave Holland is an English jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States for 40 years....
and Anthony Braxton
Anthony Braxton
Anthony Braxton is an American composer, saxophonist, clarinettist, flautist, pianist, and philosopher. Braxton has released well over 100 albums since the 1960s...
to form the group Circle
Circle (jazz band)
Circle was an avant garde jazz ensemble active in 1970 and 1971. The group arose from pianist Chick Corea's early 1970s trio with Dave Holland on bass and Barry Altschul on drums and percussion with the addition of Anthony Braxton in a leading role on several reed instruments...
. At the time, he made use of a high-pitched Gretsch
Gretsch
The Gretsch Company was founded in 1883 by Friedrich Gretsch, a twenty-seven year old German immigrant recently arrived in the US. Friedrich Gretsch manufactured banjos, tambourines, and drums, until his death in 1895. His son, Fred, moved operations to Brooklyn, New York in 1916...
kit with add-on drums and percussion instruments, which he integrated seamlessly in a whirlwind of sound.
In the 1970s Altschul worked extensively with Anthony Braxton's quartet featuring Kenny Wheeler
Kenny Wheeler
Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, OC is a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. since the 1950s....
, Dave Holland
Dave Holland
Dave Holland is an English jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States for 40 years....
, and George Lewis
George Lewis
George Lewis may refer to:*George Lowys or Lewis , mayor of Winchelsea*George Lewis , track and field athlete from Trinidad and Tobago*George Lewis , New Orleans jazz clarinettist...
. Braxton, signed to Arista Records, was able to secure a large enough budget to tour with a collection of dozens of percussion instruments, strings and winds. In addition to his participation in ensembles featuring avant garde musicians, Altschul performed with Lee Konitz, Art Pepper
Art Pepper
Art Pepper , born Arthur Edward Pepper, Jr., was an American alto saxophonist and clarinetist.About Pepper, Scott Yanow of All Music stated, "In the 1950s he was one of the few altoists that was able to develop his own sound despite the dominant influence of Charlie Parker" and: "When Art Pepper...
and other "straight ahead" jazz performers.
Altschul also made albums as a leader, but after the mid-1980s he was rarely seen in concert or on record, spending much of his time in Europe. Recently, he has become more visible, with two sideman appearances on the CIMP label with the FAB trio (with Billy Bang
Billy Bang
Billy Bang was an American free jazz violinist and composer.-Biography:...
and Joe Fonda
Joe Fonda
Joe Fonda is an American jazz bassist.Fonda was born in Amsterdam, New York to parents who both played jazz. He played guitar as a youth but switched to bass guitar later on. He studied bass at Berklee College of Music, where he also began playing upright bass. He played in the New Haven,...
), the Jon Irabagon Trio recording "Foxy", and the bassist Adam Lane. Altschul has played or recorded with many musicians, including Roswell Rudd
Roswell Rudd
Roswell Rudd is a Grammy Award-nominated American jazz trombonist and composer....
, Dave Liebman
Dave Liebman
Dave Liebman is an American saxophonist and flautist. In June 2010, he received a NEA Jazz Masters lifetime achievement award from the National Endowment for the Arts.-Biography:...
, Andrew Hill
Andrew Hill
Andrew Hill was an American jazz pianist and composer.Hill is recognized as one of the most important innovators of jazz piano in the 1960s...
, Sonny Criss
Sonny Criss
William "Sonny" Criss was an American jazz musician.An alto saxophonist of prominence during the bebop era of jazz, he was one of many players influenced by Charlie Parker.-Biography:...
, Hampton Hawes
Hampton Hawes
Hampton Hawes was an American bebop and hard-bop jazz pianist, recognized as one of the finest and most influential of the 1950s.-Biography:...
, and Lee Konitz
Lee Konitz
Lee Konitz is an American jazz composer and alto saxophonist born in Chicago, Illinois.Generally considered one of the driving forces of Cool Jazz, Konitz has also performed successfully in bebop and avant-garde settings...
.
As leader
- 1967Virtuosi (Improvising ArtistsImprovising Artists-Discography:...
) - 1977: You Can't Name Your Own Tune
- 1978: Another Time/Another Place
- 1979: For Stu (Soul Note)
- 1979: Somewhere Else
- 1980: Brahma
- 1983: Irina
- 1985: That's Nice
- 2003: Transforming the Space
As sideman
With Paul BleyPaul Bley
Paul Bley, CM is a pianist known for his contributions to the free jazz movement of the 1960s as well as his innovations and influence on trio playing.-Biography:...
- HotHot (Paul Bley album)Hot is a live album by Canadian jazz pianist Paul Bley recorded in 1985 and released on the Italian Soul Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Ron Wynn awarded the album 2½ stars stating "Excellent playing by Bley keeps things moving on this '85 date...
(Soul Note, 1985) - Live at Sweet BasilLive at Sweet Basil (Paul Bley album)Live at Sweet Basil is a live album by Canadian jazz pianist Paul Bley recorded in 1988 at the Sweet Basil Jazz Club and released on the Italian Soul Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review awarded the album 3 stars....
(Soul Note, 1988)
With Chick Corea
Chick Corea
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...
- The Song of SingingThe Song of SingingThe Song of Singing is Chick Corea's fifth solo recording, released in 1970.The album features a trio with Barry Altschul on drums and Dave Holland on bass . The setting of the album is free and spontaneous with a few scripted pieces to keep everything on track...
- Circling InCircling InCircling In is a double LP by jazz pianist Chick Corea featuring performances recorded between 1968 and 1970, including the first recordings by the group Circle, which was first released on the Blue Note label in 1975...
(1975) - A.R.C.A.R.C. (album)A.R.C. is an album by pianist Chick Corea with bassist David Holland and drummer Barry Altschul recorded in 1971 and released on the ECM label.-Reception:...
(ECM, 1970) - CirculusCirculus (album)Circulus is a double LP by jazz pianist Chick Corea, featuring performances recorded in 1970 by what would become known as the group Circle, which was first released on the Blue Note label in 1978.- Reception :...
(1970) - Paris ConcertParis Concert (Circle album)Paris Concert is a live album by the short-lived jazz group Circle, which consisted of saxophonist Anthony Braxton, pianist Chick Corea, bassist David Holland and drummer Barry Altschul, recorded in 1971 and released on the ECM label.-Reception:...
(ECM, 1971)
With Dave Holland
Dave Holland
Dave Holland is an English jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States for 40 years....
- Conference of the BirdsConference of the Birds (Dave Holland album)- Track listing :All compositions by Dave Holland.# "Four Winds" – 6:32# "Q & A" – 8:34# "Conference of the Birds" – 4:34# "Interception" – 8:20# "Now Here " – 4:34# "See-Saw" – 6:40- Personnel :...
(ECM, 1973)
With Julius Hemphill
Julius Hemphill
Julius Arthur Hemphill was a jazz composer and saxophone player. He performed mainly on alto saxophone; less often soprano and tenor saxophones and flute.-Biography:...
- Coon Bid'nessCoon Bid'nessCoon Bid'ness is an album released by Julius Hemphill in 1975 featuring performances by Hemphill, Baikida Carroll, Abdul Wadud, Phillip Wilson, Arthur Blythe, Barry Altschul and Daniel Zebulon...
(1975)
With Andrew Hill
Andrew Hill
Andrew Hill was an American jazz pianist and composer.Hill is recognized as one of the most important innovators of jazz piano in the 1960s...
- SpiralSpiral (Andrew Hill album)Spiral is an album by American jazz pianist Andrew Hill recorded in late 1974 and ealy 1975 and released on the Freedom label. The album features six of Hill's original compositions and one interpretation of a jazz standard performed by a quartet and quintet...
(1975)
With John Lindberg
John Lindberg
John Lindberg is an American jazz double-bassist.Lindberg studied at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and moved to New York City in 1977. There he played with the Human Arts Ensemble alongside Joseph Bowie and Bobo Shaw, and he was in ensembles with Anthony Braxton from 1978-1985...
- Give and TakeGive and Take (John Lindberg album)Give and Take is an album by American jazz double-bassist John Lindberg with George Lewis and Barry Altschul recorded in 1982 for the Italian Black Saint label.-Reception:The Allmusic review awarded the album 4 stars....
(Black Saint, 1982)
With Sam Rivers
Sam Rivers
Samuel Carthorne Rivers , is an American jazz musician and composer. He performs on soprano and tenor saxophones, bass clarinet, flute, harmonica and piano....
- HuesHues (album)Hues is a live album by American jazz saxophonist Sam Rivers featuring performances recorded between 1971 and 1973 and released on the Impulse! label.-Reception:...
(Impulse!, 1973) - SizzleSizzle (album)Sizzle is an album by American jazz saxophonist Sam Rivers featuring performances recorded in 1975 and released on the Impulse! label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Michael G. Nastos awarded the album 2 stars stating "Funky with electric touches...
(Impulse!, 1975)
External links
- [ Allmusic.com biography]