Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Barry Altschul was born on January 6, 1943 in New York City was a major contributing drummer to the avant-garde movement that had been steadily evolving since the innovations of Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane. Gaining fame as a drummer in the late 60’s playing in the “outside” style of jazz, his first major gig in pianists Paul Bley’s trio. By 1969 he joined up with Chick Corea, Dave Holland and Anthony Braxton forming the group Circle, which arguably might be the most technically adept free jazz ensemble ever.

At the time, he made use of a high-pitched Gretsch kit with add-on drums and percussion instruments, which he integrated seamlessly in a whirlwind of sound. His drumming was stylistically all encompassing – in his own words “from ragtime to no time” – thanks to his foundation in traditional jazz styles. No one sounded quite like him at the time, and his nuclear energy served him well when he teamed up with Sam Rivers and Anthony Braxton throughout the 1970s.

Much of Altschul’s power as a rhythm player stemmed from his subtle touch, his sound being very tight and well defined with a strict attention to rhythmic and tonal detail. He also made albums as a leader but by the mid-80’s he was rarely seen in concert or on recordings. He recently has become a little more visible as a sideman with the FAB trio with violinist Billy Bang and guitarist Joe Fonda, and with bassist Adam Lane. He has played and recorded with Roswell Rudd, Dave Liebman, Andrew Hill, Sonny Criss, Hampton Hawes and Lee Konitz.

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