Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet Plus Two, Broken English (CD)

The biggest thing that leaps out to me about Broken English is the dynamics of the recording. The Chicago Tentet in concert would move in volume from whisper to scream, and very little of this range is lost on 2001's Broken English. Digital recording and reproduction is obviously great at capturing these extremes, but listening at home can either annoy the neighbors or lose the quiet parts. The Chicago Tentet of course features an abundance of great musicians, and here they bring passion and great musicianship to Brötzmann's 42-minute "Stonewater" that makes up the bulk of the disc (and Ken Vandermark's shorter piece that follows). There's a bit of everything as the piece evolves, in fluid and always interesting directions, from an Hamid Drake's sufi chanting to intense screeches and wailing that recall Brötzmann's earliest work. The cover is on nice, textured paper, but the image and design are less exciting than the paper.