Peter Kowald

[Enforcer]

Not much discussion about Peter relative to his (IMO) remarkable contributions to the music. The first time I heard him play was on some early FMP titles like Peter Brotzmann's Machine Gun. But his solo CD, Was Da Ist, really f**ked up my head with the possibilities of the acoustic bass. He was capable of producing sounds ranging from traditional arco and pizzicato bass to things that resembled reeds or even percussion. Just an amazing control of the instrument, seemingly endless creativity and a certain "soul" that's hard to put into words.

Anyway, I was curious to hear anyone else's thoughts on Peter Kowald.

Think and post!

Larry

[Dan G]

I love his music. THe man could play damn near anything, and always seemed willing to jump into any context and give it a shot, usually quite successfully. The range on the Duos albums alone is pretty good, but then compare something like a Brotzmann disc to the Global Village disc - very diverse.

My favorite albums are probably Was Da Ist, and then some of the bass duo albums: I'm not thrilled with the set with Altena on the FMP compilation, but the Phillips and Guy ones are great; the recent issue with Parker and Jacquemyn is pretty good, and the one with Damon Smith is quite nice though Smith is a bit too much in the Kowald vein. A great pairing would have been Kowald and Leandre, but I don't think it ever happened.

Supposedly he was also a great person, very generous with his time and knowledge. The Cuts disc is material from workshops he did with youth in his home town.

And Kowald managed to bring something out in Assif Tsahar! Never liked him much until hearing those trios (one with R Ali, the other with S Murray). FOr some reason though, I've never gotten around to picking up the Fred Anderson disc with Kowald...gotta do that soon.

[John B]

And Kowald managed to bring something out in Assif Tsahar! Never liked him much until hearing those trios (one with R Ali, the other with S Murray). FOr some reason though, I've never gotten around to picking up the Fred Anderson disc with Kowald...gotta do that soon.

Have you ever heard the album Open Systems, on Marge? Kowald with Tsahar, Hugh Ragin and Hamid Drake. I really love this album and, based on your comments above, think you would really dig it.

[Dan G]

Have you ever heard the album Open Systems, on Marge? Kowald with Tsahar, Hugh Ragin and Hamid Drake. I really love this album and, based on your comments above, think you would really dig it.

No, I haven't heard this one. I have the two on Hopscotch (Deals, Ideals... and Ma) and like both quite a bit. Add another to the list.

Kowald did so much great stuff...I'm thinking that when I get home from work I may pull out some of the trio albums where he and Gunter Sommer were the "rhythm section" with either Leo Smith, Conrad Bauer or Gianni Gebbia.

[Uli]

[mke]

I saw him once, a few years back give an awesome concert as part of Assif Tsahar's trio. The third member was a certain Hamid Drake.

[al j]

The story's been told several times by several different people here, Larry, but just in case you missed it... If you were at Vision 2001 and were hungry/thirsty, chances were you were given turkey and mayo on white bread with a Heineken, prepared and served by Mr. Kowald. "Sammiches!" "Yes, they're good for you." Kowald also played a surprise filler 20 minute solo set that blew the doors off the place, throat singing and all. Beautiful.

If you haven't heard her music, you might want to look into Joelle Leandre's stuff. Her attack and all-encompassing approach to the bass are very similar to Kowald's. She has a solo disc on the Red Toucan/Cactus imprint that shouldn't be overlooked if you were impressed by Was Da Ist.

Dan, yes, Tsahar's DEALS, IDEALS, ETC is remarkable.

[Enforcer]

The story's been told several times by several different people here, Larry, but just in case you missed it... If you were at Vision 2001 and were hungry/thirsty, chances were you were given turkey and mayo on white bread with a Heineken, prepared and served by Mr. Kowald. "Sammiches!" "Yes, they're good for you." Kowald also played a surprise filler 20 minute solo set that blew the doors off the place, throat singing and all. Beautiful.

No, this is the first I heard. Great story!