Willem Breuker died July 22. It was not unexpected - he had been in declining health for a couple of years. Willem was one of the great stylists in improvising music and one of the pillars of the innovative creative improvised music scene that emerged from Europe in the 1960s. He, along with Brotzmann, Schlippenbach, Parker, and Bailey, were really the advance guard of the Euro Avant Garde, a genre that is now one of the great houses (along with Traditional, Bop, and Free) in the history of improvised music. And as with many of those Euro innovators, Breuker did it without major label support. He did get a good deal of Dutch subsidy and he built a label (BVHaast Records) to present his, and other creative artists', works. A great arranger, creative mind, and a hell of a sax player as well.
I recently received two phone calls and one email - almost condolence calls - from individuals telling me they realized how important Willem was and that they appreciated being introduced to Breuker's work through Cadence Magazine. This brought back memories of sitting in my kitchen in the winter of 1976-77, listening to his Live in Berlin (BVHaast/SAJ Records) recording. And then that got me thinking about the point at which I remember being imprinted on by other artists. Rarely was it the first time I heard someone but it was almost always through recordings (Roland Kirk being a major exception). I don't remember the first time I heard Louis Armstrong but I remember it was the Pasadena Concert (Decca) that made me take notice. I had heard Mingus a number of times (oh, yeah - he was that bassist on Bird's Massey Hall recording) but Mingus Ah Um (Columbia) was the recording that cemented his personality in my mind.
Think back and try to remember those artistic awakenings that changed your attitudes and made your life experiences better. Share if you wish.
Cheers,
Bob Rusch