BrötzFest 2012

While John Coltrane and Albert Ayler were dragging jazz into ever freer territories in the late 1960s, there was a parallel – and far more abrasive – movement taking place over in Europe. German wind player Peter Brötzmann supplied one of its defining statements with 1968's Machine Gun, an album so overwhelming it makes Coltrane's Ascension feel like easy going. Over four decades later, the Brötz is still a player of considerable intensity, and his annual trips to Tokyo are a real treat for music fans who like their jazz served with a bit of brawn and gristle. The first day of these two Pit Inn dates enlists fellow saxman Akira Sakata, trumpeter Toshinori Kondo, koto player Michiyo Yagi and drummer Tamaya Honda, while the second night sees Brötzmann play in a stripped-down trio with pianist Masahiko Satoh and drummer Takeo Moriyama.