Brötzmann / Leigh / Lonberg-Holm: Naked Nudes

This new trio of saxophonist Peter Brötzmann, pedal steel guitarist Heather Leigh, and Fred Lonberg-Holm operating both his cello and electronics, explore the musical equivalent of microgravity. Captured as part of the saxophonist's 80th birthday celebration concerts in August 2021 in his hometown of Wuppertal, Germany, the sounds achieve a perception of levitation. Credit the suspension of gravitational force to Leigh and Lonberg-Holm, both collaborators with Brötzmann; Leigh and the saxophonist have been working in duo together since 2015 and have produced several recordings including Sparrow Nights (Trost, 2018); Lonberg-Holm and Brötzmann go back even further to the mid-'90s with the Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet, plus the ADA trio with drummer Paal Nilssen-Love, and a duo outing Ouroboros (Astral Spirits, 2018).

Leigh and Lonberg-Holm do not suppress the incendiary sounds of Brötzmann but they do moderate the great man's animation on the lengthy title track of nearly 30 minutes. Without a doubt Brötzmann's caustic sound is still very recognizable, though it is suspended within the two stringed instruments. Leigh's pedal steel guitar creates an eerie echoing Western folk sound which is bolstered by Lonberg-Holm's bow work to create an ambient/chamber atmosphere. That is until the cello and electronics morph into a thundering feedback machine which creates ominous clouds upon which Brötzmann floats untethered above the affair blowing bluesy riffs. Dare we call them sentimental? Two shorter pieces get a bit noisy. "Flower Flaps" has the saxophonist in duets with Lonberg-Holm's pizzicato and Leigh's power chord guitar and "Johnny Anaconda" plays off a call-and-response between Brötzmann and his compatriots. The three have hit upon a magical combination here.