Three of the greatest saxophonists of the past few decades, teaming up here as a trio, and working at a level of sonic intensity that few other players could match! The set features Mats Gustafsson, Ken Vandermark, and Peter Brotzmann – all blowing tenor, plus a variety of other saxes – coming together without any other instrumentation, yet creating a world of sound beyond compare – very free and frenetic one minute, then spacious and textural the next – with sounds that show this amazing understand of the instruments from all three players in the group. The 2CD set features one disc of material recorded in the studio, and one disc that includes a live performance from the day before! Tracks are somewhat shorter on the studio recordings, but still have a very similar spirit and sense of interplay. CD

An amazing document of a unique musical moment – an entire jazz festival, virtually dedicated to Peter Brotzmann himself! The legendary Brotzmann not only curated the festival – filling it with some of his key collaborators and musical contemporaries – but he also plays on a fair bit of the titles here, too – in different groupings that reflect not only his long history in the European avant scene, but also his ties to Chicago, and his work with Japanese improvisers too! The package is wonderful – the next best thing to being at this exclusive event in person – and the set features 5CDs worth of music from the festival, with performances by Sonore (with Brotzmann, Ken Vandermark, & Mats Gustafsson), Chicago Tentet with John Tchicai, solo work by Jeiji Haino, the Hairy Bones quartet with Brotzmann and Toshinori Kondo, the Full Blast Trio, the DKV Trio, Caspar Brotzmann Massaker, and various other groupings with players who include Jeb Bishop, Joe McPhee, Mars Williams, Jason Adasiewicz, Nasheet Waits, Masahiko Satoh, Bill Laswell, and many others. CD