The Dried Rat–Dog

The Dried Rat–Dog
Studio album by
Peter Brötzmann and Hamid Drake
Released1995
RecordedMay 24, 1994
StudioSparrow Sound Design, Chicago
GenreFree jazz
LabelOkka Disk
OD12004
ProducerHamid Drake, John Corbett, Peter Brötzmann

The Dried Rat–Dog is an album by saxophonist Peter Brötzmann and drummer Hamid Drake. It was recorded in May 1994 at Sparrow Sound Design in Chicago, and was released in 1995 by Okka Disk.[1][2]

Regarding the album title, producer John Corbett wrote: "A lovely night in late April. Walking to the Hopleaf bar... Looking down one of the sidestreets Terri points at a little pet on its evening walk. 'Rat-dog,' she mumbles quietly. 'Hmm. Rat-dog. Rattenhund.' Brötzmann smiles brushing back his beard as he does when he thinks. 'Zat's not baaad! Have to check it with Hamid...but I like it.'"[3]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz[5]
Tom Hull – on the WebB[6]

In a review for AllMusic, Joslyn Lane called the album "a free jazz energy wallop," and stated that it "move[s] through an array of moods and approaches, but never lets up on creativity and musicianship, making The Dried Rat-Dog a must-hear for all fans of either musician, although not the best place to start for the uninitiated."[4]

The authors of the Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings awarded the album 4 stars, and wrote: "Drake has become a particularly perceptive and persuasive partner... Drake's rhythms have a steadier, more momentous pulse than most free-jazz drumming and his use of frame drums and tablas adds a global touch. There are six pieces, brimful of eloquent interplay, and on 'Trees Have Roots in the Earth' and 'Dark Wings Carry Off the Sky' Brötz uncorks some of his most vivid tenor-playing for some time."[5]

Peter Margasak, writing for the Chicago Reader, described the album as "gorgeous," and remarked: "Brötzmann may draw from a wide range of moods and colors, but all of them are sharp and well articulated."[7]

Author Todd S. Jenkins compared Drake to Han Bennink, another drummer with whom Brötzmann has frequently played and recorded, and noted: "It is only logical that Drake would prove as satisfactory a partner for Brötzmann as the Dutch genius had been. Drake is a more serious performer than Bennink, engaging in intensified coloration rather than wild-eyed humor on tracks like the tarogato feature 'It's an Angel on the Door.' On this... Brötzmann continues to prove that he is eternally full of surprises."[8]

Track listing

Composed by Hamid Drake and Peter Brötzmann.

  1. "The Dried Rat-Dog" – 13:50
  2. "It's an Angel on the Door" – 6:51
  3. "Open Into the Unknown" – 5:17
  4. "Trees Have Roots in the Earth" – 10:57
  5. "Uninvited Entertainer" – 16:09
  6. "Dark Wings Carry Off the Sky" – 7:21

Personnel

References

  1. ^ "Peter Brötzmann: The Dried Rat–Dog (With Hamid Drake)". Jazz Music Archives. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  2. ^ "The Dried Rat-Dog (OD12004)". Okka Disk. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  3. ^ Corbett, John (1995). The Dried Rat–Dog (liner notes). Peter Brötzmann and Hamid Drake. Okka Disk. OD12004.
  4. ^ a b Lane, Joslyn. "The Dried Rat–Dog". AllMusic. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  5. ^ a b Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. Penguin Books. pp. 177–178.
  6. ^ Hull, Tom. "Grade List: Peter Brotzmann". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
  7. ^ Margasak, Peter (January 23, 1997). "Peter Brotzmann Octet". Chicago Reader. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  8. ^ Jenkins, Todd S. (2004). "Brötzmann, Peter". Free Jazz and Free Improvisation: An Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. Greenwood. p. 66.