Brötzmann,Bekkas,& Drake — Catching Ghosts

Catching Ghosts is a collusion between free jazz and Gnaoua Blues. It’s an album that moves between earthly rhythmic & grooving, spiritual & felt, and lightly to not-so-lightly seared.  It's also one of the last releases from highly respected German saxophonist Peter Brötzmann- who passed in June of this year.

This CD release appears on Germanys Act Music. It comes presented in a four-panel digipak, which on its inner flaps features a write-up about the performance in both English and German and a photo of the three-piece performing. The album is also available in vinyl form too
 
The four-track set was recorded at 2022’s Berlin Jazzfest.  With the line-up been Peter Brötzmann- tenor saxophone and clarinet. Majid Bekkas- Guembri(a three-stringed skin-covered bass plucked lute) and vocals. And Hamid Drake- drums & percussion.
 
The set/ CD opens with “Chalaba” which is the longest track here at just over sixteen minutes. It opens with lightly bounding Guembri tones and boxy like percussion runs- before the horn work comes in, this darts between the rousingly spiritual and searingly rapid- as we get more tight cymbal detail coming into the fray. Then Bekkas powerful wailing & at times moving vocals come in. As the track unfolds we move from more weaving ‘n’ smashing percussion, tapping on skin bass tones, and of course Mr Brötzmann's horn work- which moves between the moody, baying, and fierce.
 
Moving through the set we have the detailed percussion, skin bass groove, and chanted-to-sang vocals of “Mawama”. With Brötzmann raise in free jazz glory ever so often- for some quite intense moments. Onto galloping twang, cymbal hiss, and warbling eastern horn work of “Balini” with Bekkas giving some of his most impassioned vocal work.
 
Catching Ghosts highlights three players focused on creating passionate and at times intense meeting between the worlds of Jazz & Moroccan world music. It is still so sad to think Brötzmann is no longer with us, and this is a great example of his spirit and flare as a player- though of course both Bekkas and Drake are none too shabby either.