Catching Ghosts by revered, iconoclastic 81-year-old reedist Peter Brötzmann with Moroccan Gnaoua adept Majid Bekkas playing two-stringed, camelskin-backed guembre and Chicago-bred drummer Hamid Drake, proves that free spontaneous interactions deriving power from age-old traditions can transcend cultural lines. Improvising on incantations from Gnaoua liturgy, Brötzmann's horn cries as summons and statement; Drake's drums awaken inner impulses; Bekkas' strings, plucked and strummed, tie it all together, and his voice brings the song home. But this is no lucky success: The music is vital due to its players' career-long practice, their knowledge of heritage, and belief the past must always be reinterpreted, renewed. American jazz giants have jammed with Gnaouans, but for Brötzmann, Europe's exemplar of unfettered blowing, to grapple with such material is to hear a new synthesis. My approach is get in and disturb these themes, so other things happen, he explains. I'm not thinking about scales or harmonies. I follow Bekkas, and when he changes, I do something against it to make the music interesting to me. The dialectic is a good way to make something new, out of tension. I need that in any sort of playing. Bekkas aligns himself with Brötzmann, championing the revival of Gnaouan culture, which originates in the uneasy history of freed Black slaves integrating with Moroccan Islamic society. The music relates to American blues, as Bekkas knows. Drake orchestrates the open format, making drama from grooves so each track of Catching Ghosts tells its own story, signifying meaning though it be pre-linguistic. That suits Brötzmann's adjustment of his signature style. I don't have to play all high energy anymore, says the German who shook up the jazz world in 1968 with his album Machine Gun. Now I'm more interest in dynamics and sound. Those tangible qualities universalize the challenge of Catching Ghosts.
Release date:
October 20, 2023
Label:
Install our app to receive notifications when new upcoming releases are added.

Recommended equipment and accessories
-
Pro-Ject Phono Box DC Pre-Amp
Compact, high-performance phono preamplifier for both MM and MC cartridges, delivering a clean, detailed signal with minimal noise.
-
Audioengine A2 Plus
Precision-engineered 2.75-inch woofers and a 0.75-inch silk dome tweeter, featuring built-in DAC and Bluetooth connectivity for seamless integration.
-
Turntables - Top Picks
A selection of reliable record players you can buy today, for every budget
-
Denon DP-400
Featuring a high-precision, belt-driven mechanism and an adjustable tonearm that ensures optimal tracking and minimal resonance
-
Nobsound Little Bear T7 Tube Preamp
Delivers rich, warm audio through its high-quality vacuum tubes, featuring multiple inputs and adjustable gain
Featured Upcoming Vinyl
-
Biohazard Divided We Fall
Frontiers New Recordings Physical Only
October 17, 2025 -
Pretty Bitter Pleaser (Blueberry Lemonade Splatter)
Tiny Engines
November 7, 2025 -
Cavetown Running with Scissors
Futures Music Group
January 16, 2026 -
Alexisonfire Copies of Old Masters Vol. 1 (Black Inside Coke Bottle)
Dine Alone Music Inc
November 7, 2025 -
Citizen Everybody Is Going to Heaven (10 Year Anniversary Edition) [2xLP]
Run For Cover
October 17, 2025 -
Runo Plum Patching
Winspear
November 14, 2025 -
Bone Church Deliverance (Lavender Marble)
Ripple Music
October 24, 2025 -
Zach Top Zach Top
RBR Entertainment
October 10, 2025 -
Rise of the Northstar Chapter 4 : Red Falcon Super Battle! Neo Paris War!!
Kuromaku Corp. SAS
November 14, 2025 -
JID God Does Like Ugly (Ruby 2Lp) (Amazon Exclusive) [2xLP]
Dreamville / Interscope
October 17, 2025 -
Gareth Quinn Redmond Múscailte (Ultra Clear)
sound as language
November 14, 2025 -
From Fall To Spring Entry Wounds (Magenta)
Arising Empire
October 31, 2025 -
GORILLAZ THE MOUNTAIN [2xLP]
Kong Studios Essex Limited
March 20, 2026 -
Sabaton Legends (Amazon Exclusive Edition)
Better Noise Music
October 17, 2025