Barry Altschul

Biography

Born: January 6, 1943    Instrument: Drums

Barry Altschul is a drummer who gained fame in the late 1960s with the pianists Paul Bley and Chick Corea, playing in the “outside” style of jazz that had been evolving steadily since the innovations of Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane. His first major gig in the late 1960s was with Paul Bley'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. No one sounded quite like him at the time, and his nuclear energy served him well when he teamed up with Sam Rivers and Anthony Braxton throughout the 1970s.

Altschul also made a few albums as a leader, but after the mid-1980s he was rarely seen in concert or on record. Recently, he has become a little more visible again, with two sideman appearances on the CIMP label with the FAB trio (with Billy Bang and Joe Fonda) 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.


Videos

No videos available. Add a video now.

Jazz Session Interview

Barry Altschul

Listen now!

(58:14)

Local Calendar


Date Title/Musician Venue Location
May 16 Vince Giordano and The Nighthawks in New York on 05/16/12 Central Park Boathouse New York, NY
May 16 SKY's THE LIMIT Wednesdays SkyRoom New York, NY
May 16 "A.C.U.Later" Wednesdays GreenHouse New York, NY
May 16 Bill Frisell Village Vanguard New York, NY
May 16 Marianne Solivan Antibes Bistro New York, NY
May 16 Mark Peterson and Trio Tres Bien The Highlawn Pavillion West Orange, NJ
May 16 Jean-Baptiste Barrière Roulette Brooklyn, NY
May 16 Jeremy Manasia Smalls Jazz Club New York, NY
May 16 Oscar Penas Trumpets Jazz Club & Restaurant Montclair, NJ
May 16 Teri Roiger Quartet JAZZ at KITANO New York, NY
May 16 Yuko Okamoto Tomi Jazz New York, NY
May 16 Mauricio de Souza Quartet The Lambs Club New York, NY