Peter Brotzmann / Sabu Toyozumi: Triangle – Live at OHM, 1987

Triangle—Live At OHM, 1987 is a recording of Peter Brötzmann in Japan. Here he is performing with master free jazz drummer Sabu Toyozumi. This is not the musicians first meeting. The pair have released a couple nearly impossible to find discs such as Live In Japan 1982 (Improvised Company, 1999) and Live In Okayama 1987 (Improvised Company, 2000) the latter CD with Derek Bailey.

Thanks to NoBusiness Records from Lithuania we have this gem from December 1987 in Tokyo. The label has released several discs from Toyozumi, including duos with Mats Gustafsson, Paul Rutherford, Wadada Leo Smith, Kaoru Abe, Masahiko Satoh, and Yuji Takahashi. The Japanese drummer born in 1943, two years after Brotzmann in Germany, has a career very much parallel to his saxophonist partner. His explorations into free jazz and noise (the good kind) have found him in the company of Misha Mengelberg, Keiji Haino, Otomo Yoshihide, Barre Phillips, Han Bennink, and Fred Van Hove.

Toyozumi's approach here is similar to that of pedal steel guitarist Heather Leigh. Like Leigh, he does not go toe-to-toe with Brotzmann in an attempt to compete with the saxophonist's muscular sound. His approach—that has a definite effect on the saxophonist—is to maintain a steady attack that centers on Brotzmann, often softening the great man's approach. Toyozumi's hushed pulse is copied by the saxophonist on the title track. Even as Brotzmann explores the upper register of his horn, the drums hesitate and so does the saxophonist. With Toyozumi employing space in his playing, we can assume this influences Brotzmann's decision to swap his tenor saxophone for tarogato. "Valentine Chocolate" "Toh-ro," and "Depth Of Focus" feature the instrument, although Brotzmann often switches between the two. The one instance where the two musicians square off is the brief "Membrane System." Toyozumi's furious drumming ignites a signature machine gun attack. But wait, the drums guide the saxophone into a gentle and quiet conclusion. There is magic here, evidenced by the respect these two masters have for each other's music.