Peter Brotzmann is such a consistently powerful and distinctive reedsman in every context where he plays that it scarcely seems worthy of comment. Right from his few first notes here, his tone is so unmistakeable that it seems unimaginable for anyone to ever be caught out in a blindfold test by a Brotzmann track. While he can spring the occasional surprise and sound wistful, his full-on self is never very far away. Credited with playing his usual battery of horns — tenor sax, alto sax, B-flat clarinet and tarogato — Brotzmann is fearsome on all of them. Despite the awesome power he generates, that never comes at the expense of musicality; even when his tone is harsh enough to strip paint, Brotzmann fluently spins out well-constructed phrases that would be the envy of many other saxophonists.
The beauty of Soulfood Available is that it finds Brötz with a bassist and drummer who are ideally equipped to match him every step of the way — John Edwards on double bass and Steve Noble on drums. In recent years, the pairing of Edwards and Noble has become as ubiquitous as that of Edwards and Mark Sanders (once called "the Sly and Robbie of improv") used to be. Edwards and Noble form two-thirds of the trio NEW with Alex Ward on guitar, of a trio with power alto saxophonist Alan Wilkinson, and of the trio Decoy with Alexander Hawkins on Hammond organ. In addition, the pair often gig with visiting musicians at London's Cafe Oto, which is where they first encountered Brotzmann, back in 2010. Soulfood Available is the third album on which the three have appeared together, following the trio's The Worse The Better (Otoroku, 2012) and Mental Shake (Otoroku, 2014) on which they were joined by vibist Jason Adasiewicz, both those albums having been recorded live at Cafe Oto.
The good news is that Soulfood Available was recorded live at the 54th Ljubljana Jazz Festival in July 2013, as all three members are performers heard at their best in front of a live audience. The album seems to be a full hour-long set, with the forty-three minute title track being a tour de force that dominates it. That piece demonstrates the trio at its best. As ever, Edwards and Noble do not just function as a powerhouse rhythm section behind the soloist but constantly inject their own individual touches and flourishes so that there is an ongoing three-way exchange. Naturally, Brotzmann is in the limelight for much of the time, but there is always enough else going on to ensure he does not hog it. Given the music's power, the trio do not play flat-out all the time. But even when the tempo drops to allow them a breather, the intensity level never flags and the music remains gripping throughout. Impressive stuff.
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