Willem Breuker Kollektief: Dutch Jazz Minus Leader
An alternate jazz universe has long been bubbling along nicely in Amsterdam, as chronicled in Kevin Whitehead's "New Dutch Swing." Among that scene's stars is the Willem Breuker Kollektief, formed in 1974 by clarinet and saxophone player Breuker, who also writes most of the group's music. The ten-member Kollektief (consisting of three saxophones, four horns, and rhythm section) finished its short American tour Monday with a show at Joe's Pub in Manhattan. There were a couple of disappointments from the get-go. Unfortunately, the band wasn't performing Breuker's new music for F. W. Murnau's 1926 silent film, "Faust," as they had been elsewhere on the tour, and Breuker himself was absent due to illness.
Breuker's absence toned down the onstage zaniness and physical high jinks that have long characterized the group. Like Frank Zappa, Breuker is a strong advocate of humorous music, and, again like Zappa, his writing is a rapid-fire collage of styles, keys, time signatures, and free improvisation. Rather than being based on African-American blues, however, Breuker's roots lie in European classical music, cabaret songs, and music-hall rhythms. The highlights of the somewhat subdued tentet's show at Joe's Pub included pianist Henk de Jonge's long, wild piano solo blending Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" with Dave Brubeck's "Take Five"; Hermine Deurloo's harmonica and alto-sax solos (unlike the rest of the band, she is both female and relatively young); and a gorgeous fugue. They came, they swung, and they headed home. Get well, Willem.