| In 1977, in Berlin, three masters of European free music convened for a triumvirate summit.
Finnish drummer Edward Vesala, known in later years for his fiery big-band outings on ECM, was one of the pioneers of free jazz in Scandanavia, a tremendously sensitive percussionist and highly inventive kitsman who passed away 1999.
Buschi Niebergall also died much too young (in the '80s), but he was a key bassist in the emergent German free jazz scene, playing with Peter Brötzmann, Manfred Schoof, Alex Schlippenbach, and many others.
His German colleague, Gerd Dudek (here playing not only tenor sax, but also flutes and soprano saxophone), is a quiet hero of German jazz, a transitional figure on the cusp of free music with the Manfred Schoof Quintet in the mid-60s. He's sometimes compared to Clifford Jordan, a reference that makes sense, but he's also as wide open as the title of this great record suggests.
This entry in the FMP Archive Edition, never before on CD, was remastered from the original tapes, with the original cover art. A little-known gem gets the polishing it deserves. |