Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Peter Br?tzmann / Heather Leigh: Ears Are Filled With Wonder
Peter Br?tzmann / Heather Leigh: Ears Are Filled With Wonder
ByPeter Brötzmann
woodwinds1941 - 2023

Cecil Taylor
piano1929 - 2018

Anthony Braxton
woodwindsb.1945

Evan Parker
saxophone, sopranob.1944
Heather Leigh
guitar, steelSelf taught, Leigh has operated in the noise and avant rock fields for several decades including with the likes of drummer

Chris Corsano
drums
Thurston Moore
guitarThe single 28-minute piece opens with Br?tzmann's familiar clarion cry, ringing out on tarogato like a cross between an air raid klaxon and a call to prayer. His broad vibrato produces singing harmonics, as he is joined by shimmering pedal steel itself generating further copious overtones which blend eerily accentuated by a resonant performance space in the legendary Alchemia club. Leigh complements Br?tzmann measure for measure. Br?tzmann's wavering sighs signal a pause, but when Leigh shifts to a deep bass twang, he rejoins more anguished than before, while Leigh matches his banshee wail with her own keening thrum.
The reedman noticeably moderates his playing to the situation, forgoing his lung-busting outpourings, while Leigh proves a revelation in what her instrument can accomplish in this setting. She often favors a sustained legato approach in contrast to Br?tzmann's staccato attack and insistent howl. When Leigh develops a rhythmic motif, Br?tzmann essays variations on his "Master of a Small House" melody (a favorite ever since its inclusion on Tales Out Of Time (Hatology, 2004) with

Joe McPhee
woodwindsb.1939
Their dialogue ebbs and flows until Br?tzmann switches to bass clarinet to mine a seam of a gruff fruity lyricism, accompanied by chiming pedal steel for an almost gentle conclusion. While perhaps Leigh could have been more challenging, she achieves an equable accommodation with the veteran reedman which makes for a concise but compelling album. ">
Track Listing
Ears Are Filled With Wonder.
Personnel
Peter Br?tzmann
woodwindsPeter Br?tzmann: tenor saxophone; tarogato; bass and Bb clarinets; Heather Leigh: pedal steel guitar.
Album information
Title: Ears Are Filled With Wonder | Year Released: 2016 | Record Label: Not Two Records
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