The Pirate

It is a familiar scenario. A producer seeks entry into the musician's private vault, seeking unreleased gems. Producer Thomas Chussler describes Dutch jazz legend Willem Breuker as a pirate who travels the world pilfering musical booty and stashing it in his own personal musical treasure chest. "Trying to steal from a thief requires dedication and persistence... finally however I was admitted into the vault and allowed to select the music you hear on this CD," Schussler writes in the liner notes. Such a project could be a grab bag of loose ends not worth releasing in the first place. Or it could be a case of valuable buried loot, as it is here. This fine collection establishes that it's a keeper from the start, before the listener has heard a note. It comes in a stylish metal cigarillo case, with a lovely painting by Breuker's old cohort Han Bennink on the front. Bennink is on board not only as a painter; the collection begins and ends with 1969-1970 collaborations about which praise must be lavished. This particular period of Dutch improvised music is delightful, not only for the stellar efforts of the well-known Dutch jazz musicians on board, but for some of the outrageous guitar playing and bravura use of the mandolin. The piece "Serendipity" from 1969 seems quite like a track released on the infamous Instant Composer's Pool "round box" set; perhaps it is an alternate take. In any case, be it previously unreleased or just long out of print, all of this material goes a long way toward proving the case of Breuker's incredible versatility. He has a lot of things going for him as a composer that become evident even in initial listenings to these pieces. His use of short musical phrases and what he does building things out of them with all his diverse musical partners and arrangements might just be enough for one career as a composer. Those fortunate enough to have seen his big band in concert might be used to hearing his works performed by a large group, yet the impact is sometimes even grander in the case of a piece such as "Minimal Kollektief Dance," which utilizes only percussion and piano. There is one moment that jumped out when the music suddenly switched to percussion after a long series of keyboard repetitions. Plus, Breuker always has his humor on tap, and if necessary can step in with a sax and melt the cheese on your toastie.