Machine Gun
- Zone: Abyss (level 5 of 5)
- Genre: Jazz, Free jazz
- Mood: violent, relentless, overwhelming
- Sound: octet, full-volume saxophones, free improvisation, dual drummers, dense collective blasts
Machine Gun is one of the most extreme records of European free jazz. Brötzmann recorded it in May 1968 with an octet of three saxophonists (Brötzmann, Willem Breuker and Evan Parker), a pianist (Fred Van Hove), two bassists and two drummers, and the title piece is a huge, sustained blast of overlapping saxophones and drums that early listeners heard as a wall of noise. Brötzmann said the main piece is built on a very simple structure, and the music draws on the blues as much as on academic avant-garde ideas. It was recorded against the backdrop of the Vietnam War and became a blueprint for later heavy, noisy improvised music, including Last Exit, Naked City and Massacre.
Track list
- Machine Gun
- Responsible (For Jan van de Ven)
- Music for Han Bennink