Barry Altschul (born January 6, 1943, New York City) is a

free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians dur ...

and

hard bop Hard bop is a subgenre of jazz that is an extension of bebop (or "bop") music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz that incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gosp ...

drummer who first came to notice in the late 1960s for performing with pianists Paul Bley and

Chick Corea Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz composer, pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain", "500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba", and " ...

Biography

Altschul is of

Russian Jewish The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest pop ...

heritage, the son of a laborer who did construction work and drove a taxi. Having initially taught himself to play drums, Altschul studied with

Charlie Persip Charles Lawrence Persip (July 26, 1929 – August 23, 2020), known as Charli Persip and formerly as Charlie Persip (he changed the spelling of his name to Charli in the late 1960s), was an American jazz drummer. Biography Born in Morristown, ...

during the 1960s. In the latter part of the decade, he performed with Paul Bley. In 1969 he joined with

Dave Holland David “Dave” Holland (born 1 October 1946) is an English jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States for over 40 years. His extensive discography r ...

and

Anthony Braxton Anthony Braxton (born June 4, 1945) is an American experimental composer, educator, music theorist, improviser and multi-instrumentalist who is best known for playing saxophones, particularly the alto. Braxton grew up on the South Side of ...

to form the group

Circle A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is const ...

. At the time, he made use of a high-pitched

Gretsch Gretsch is an American company that manufactures musical instruments. The company was founded in 1883 in Brooklyn, New York by Friedrich Gretsch, a 27-year-old German immigrant, shortly after his arrival to the United States. Friedrich Gretsc ...

kit with add-on drums and percussion instruments. In the 1970s, Altschul worked extensively with Anthony Braxton's quartet featuring

Kenny Wheeler Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, OC (14 January 1930 – 18 September 2014) was a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. from the 1950s onwards. Most of his performances were rooted in jazz, but he was also active ...

, and

George E. Lewis George Emanuel Lewis (born July 14, 1952) is an American composer, performer, and scholar of experimental music. He has been a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians ( AACM) since 1971, when he joined the organization ...

. Braxton, signed to

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertain ...

, was able to secure a large enough budget to tour with a collection of dozens of percussion instruments, strings and winds. In addition to his participation in ensembles featuring avant-garde musicians, Altschul performed with Lee Konitz,

Art Pepper Arthur Edward Pepper Jr. (September 1, 1925 – June 15, 1982) was an American alto saxophonist and very occasional tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. Active in West Coast jazz, Pepper came to prominence in Stan Kenton's big band. He was known ...

and other "straight ahead" jazz performers. Altschul also made albums as a leader, but after the mid-1980s he was rarely seen in concert or on record, spending much of his time in Europe. Since the 2000s, he has become more visible, with two sideman appearances on the CIMP label with the FAB trio (with

Billy Bang Billy Bang (September 20, 1947 – April 11, 2011), born William Vincent Walker, was an American free jazz violinist and composer. Biography Bang's family moved to New York City's Bronx neighborhood while he was still an infant, and as a ...

and

Joe Fonda Joe Fonda (born December 16, 1954) is an American jazz bassist. Career Fonda was born in Amsterdam, New York to parents who both played jazz. He played guitar as a youth but switched to bass guitar later. He studied bass at Berklee College of M ...

), the Jon Irabagon Trio recording "Foxy", and the bassist

Adam Lane Adam Leroy Lane (born August 6, 1964) is a convicted murderer who was dubbed the Highway Killer because his crimes took place near the highway, which he frequently traveled due to his job as a trucker. Murders Lane was born on August 6, 1964, ...

. Altschul has played or recorded with many musicians, including

Roswell Rudd Roswell Hopkins Rudd Jr. (November 17, 1935 – December 21, 2017) was an American jazz trombonist and composer. Although skilled in a variety of genres of jazz (including Dixieland, which he performed while in college), and other genres of musi ...

Dave Liebman David Liebman (born September 4, 1946) is an American saxophonist, flautist and jazz educator. He is known for his innovative lines and use of atonality. He was a frequent collaborator with pianist Richie Beirach. In June 2010, he received ...

Barre Phillips Barre Phillips (born October 27, 1934, in San Francisco, California, United States) is an American jazz bassist. A professional musician since 1960, he moved to New York City in 1962, then to Europe in 1967. Since 1972, he has been based in south ...

, Denis Levaillant, Andrew Hill,

Sonny Criss William "Sonny" Criss (23 October 1927 – 19 November 1977) was an American jazz musician. An alto saxophonist of prominence during the bebop era of jazz, he was one of many players influenced by Charlie Parker. Biography William Criss w ...

Hampton Hawes Hampton Barnett Hawes Jr. (November 13, 1928 – May 22, 1977) was an American jazz pianist. He was the author of the memoir ''Raise Up Off Me'', which won the Deems-Taylor Award for music writing in 1975. Early life Hampton Hawes was born on ...

, and

Lee Konitz Leon Konitz (October 13, 1927 – April 15, 2020) was an American composer and alto saxophonist. He performed successfully in a wide range of jazz styles, including bebop, cool jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Konitz's association with the cool jaz ...

Discography

As leader/co-leader

* 1967: ''

Virtuosi A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'' or , "virtuous", Late Latin ''virtuosus'', Latin ''virtus'', "virtue", "excellence" or "skill") is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as ...

'' ( Improvising Artists) with Paul Bley and Gary Peacock * 1977: ''You Can't Name Your Own Tune'' (

32 Jazz 32 Records was a record label established in 1995 by record producer Joel Dorn and attorney Robert Miller. Its 32 Jazz imprint released a successful series of compilation albums. It was named for Dorn's favorite sports number. It also released ne ...

) * 1978: ''Another Time/Another Place'' (

Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

) * 1979: ''For Stu'' (

Soul Note Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz. History Black S ...

) * 1979: ''Somewhere Else'' ( Moers Music) * 1979: '' Be-Bop?'' ( Musica) with

Pepper Adams Park Frederick "Pepper" Adams III (October 8, 1930 – September 10, 1986) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist and composer. He composed 42 pieces, was the leader on eighteen albums spanning 28 years, and participated in 600 sessions as a si ...

* 1980: ''Brahma'' ( Sackville) * 1983: ''Irina'' (Soul Note) * 1986: ''That's Nice'' (Soul Note) * 2003: ''Transforming the Space'' * 2012: '' Reunion: Live in New York'' ( Pi) * 2013: ''The 3Dom Factor'' (TUM) * 2015: ''Tales of the Unforeseen'' (TUM)

As sideman

With Paul Bley * '' Touching'' (

Debut Debut or début (the first public appearance of a person or thing) may refer to: * Debut (society), the formal introduction of young upper-class women to society * Debut novel, an author's first published novel Film and television * ''The De ...

, 1965) * '' Closer'' ( ESP-Disk, 1966) * ''

Ramblin' ''Ramblin' on My Mind'' is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams, released in 1979, by Folkways Records. Produced by Tom Royals, and recorded in Mississippi in the late 1970s, the album features a collection of tra ...

'' (

BYG Actuel BYG Records was a French record label known for the Actuel series specializing in free jazz. However, the label released a handful of non-jazz recordings by artists such as Musica Elettronica Viva, Freedom and Gong. History BYG Records was found ...

, 1967) * ''Blood'' (Fontana, 1966) * ''In Haarlem - Blood'' (Freedom, 1967) * ''

Ballads A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

'' (ECM, 1967

971 Year 971 ( CMLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Battle of Dorostolon: A Byzantine expeditionary army (possibly 30–40,000 men ...

* ''

Paul Bley & Scorpio ''Paul Bley & Scorpio'' is an album by Paul Bley performing compositions by Annette Peacock and Carla Bley which was released by the Milestone label in 1973.Japan Suite ''Japan Suite'' is a live album by pianist Paul Bley, drummer Barry Altschul and bassist Gary Peacock recorded in Japan in 1976 and released on Bley's own Improvising Artists label in 1977.Hot'' (Soul Note, 1985) * '' Live at Sweet Basil'' (Soul Note, 1988) * ''Indian Summer'' (SteepleChase, 1987) * ''Rejoicing'' (SteepleChase, 1989) With

* ''

The Complete Braxton ''The Complete Braxton'' (also released as ''The Complete Braxton 1971'') is an album by American jazz saxophonist and composer Anthony Braxton recorded in 1971 and released on the Freedom label.Freedom, 1971 973 * '' Town Hall 1972'' (Trio, 1972) * '' Quartet: Live at Moers Festival'' (Ring, 1974 976 * ''

Five Pieces 1975 ''Five Pieces 1975'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist Anthony Braxton recorded in 1975 and released on the Arista label.Arista Arista may refer to: Organizations *Arista Networks, a software defined networking company *Arista Records, an American record label, division of Sony Music **Arista Nashville, a record label specializing in country music *Arista (honor society) ...

, 1975) * '' Creative Orchestra Music 1976'' (Arista, 1976) * '' Dortmund (Quartet) 1976'' (hatART, 1976 991 * ''

The Montreux/Berlin Concerts ''The Montreux/Berlin Concerts'' is a double album by American jazz saxophonist Anthony Braxton recorded in 1975 and 1976 and released on the Arista label.

'' (Arista, 1975–76) With

* '' The Song of Singing'' (1971) * '' Circling In'' (1975) * '' ARC'' (

ECM ECM may refer to: Economics and commerce * Engineering change management * Equity capital markets * Error correction model, an econometric model * European Common Market Mathematics * Elliptic curve method * European Congress of Mathematics ...

, 1971) * '' Circulus'' (1970) * '' Paris Concert'' (ECM, 1971) * ''The Beginning'' (1996) With Annette Peacock * 1972 '' I'm the One'' * 2014 ''I Belong to a World That's Destroying Itself'' ka ''Revenge'' With Sam Rivers * 1973 '' Hues'' (

Impulse! Impulse! Records (occasionally styled as "¡mpulse! Records" and "¡!") is an American jazz record company and label established by Creed Taylor in 1960. John Coltrane was among Impulse!'s earliest signings. Thanks to consistent sales and positiv ...

) * 1975 '' Sizzle'' (Impulse!) * 1976 ''The Quest'' (Red) * 1977 ''Paragon'' With others * 1972 '' Hold That Plane!'',

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray Vaug ...

* 1972 ''Play the Blues'', Buddy Guy/ Junior Wells * 1973 ''

Conference of the Birds ''The Conference of the Birds'' or ''Speech of the Birds'' ( fa, منطق الطیر, ''Manṭiq-uṭ-Ṭayr'', also known as ''Maqāmāt-uṭ-Ṭuyūr''; 1177) is a Persian poem by Sufi poet Farid ud-Din Attar, commonly known as Attar of Ni ...

'',

(ECM) * 1973 ''

Icarus In Greek mythology, Icarus (; grc, Ἴκαρος, Íkaros, ) was the son of the master craftsman Daedalus, the architect of the labyrinth of Crete. After Theseus, king of Athens and enemy of Minos, escaped from the labyrinth, King Minos sus ...

'', Paul Winter * 1974 '' Drum Ode'',

* 1974 '' Flexible Flyer'',

* 1975 '' Coon Bid'ness'',

Julius Hemphill Julius Arthur Hemphill (January 24, 1938 – April 2, 1995) was a jazz composer and saxophone player. He performed mainly on alto saxophone, less often on soprano and tenor saxophones and flute. Biography Hemphill was born in Fort Worth, Texas, ...

* 1975 ''

Spiral In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a point, moving farther away as it revolves around the point. Helices Two major definitions of "spiral" in the American Heritage Dictionary are:Andrew Hill * 1982 '' Give and Take'', John Lindberg ( Black Saint) * 1983 '' And Far Away''

Kenny Drew Kenneth Sidney "Kenny" Drew (August 28, 1928 – August 4, 1993) was an American-Danish jazz pianist. Biography Drew was born in New York City, United States, and received piano lessons from the age of five. Feather, Leonard, & Ira Gitler ( ...

(Soul Note) * 1983 ''Lido'', Claudio Fasoli * 1983 ''My One and Only Love'', Franco D'Andrea * 1983 ''No Idea of Time'', Franco D'Andrea * 1983 ''Sounds of Love'', Tiziana Ghiglioni * 1986 ''Passages'', Denis Levaillant (DLM, 1986/2012) * 1990 ''Brundl's Basslab'', Manfred Brundl * 1991 ''For All the Marbles Suite'', Simon Nabatov * 1992 ''Giacobazzi: Autour de la Rade'', André Jaume * 1995 ''Live'', Brundl's Basslab * 1995 ''Reflections'', Julius Hemphill * 1997 ''Kinshasa-Washington D.C.-Paris'', Ray Lema * 1999 ''Clarinet Sessions'', André Jaume * 2000 ''Another Side'', Ken Simon * 2001 '' Skillfullness'',

Alan Silva Alan Silva (born Alan Lee da Silva; January 22, 1939 in Bermuda) is an American free jazz double bassist and keyboard player. Biography Silva was born a British subject to an Azorean/ Portuguese mother, Irene da Silva, and a black Bermudian f ...

* 2002 ''Four Beings'', Adam Lane * 2003 ''Transforming the Space'', FAB Trio * 2004 ''Desert Songs & Other Landscapes'',

Gebhard Ullmann Gebhard Ullmann (born November 2, 1957) is a German jazz musician and composer. Career At the age of six, Ullmann started to play the recorder and later classical flute. Since 1976 he studied a.o. with Herb Geller and Dave Liebman and at th ...

* 2005 ''Flat Fleet'',

Enrico Rava Enrico Rava (born 20 August 1939), is an Italian jazz trumpeter. He started on trombone, then changed to the trumpet after hearing Miles Davis. Career He was born in Trieste, Italy. His first commercial work was as a member of Gato Barbieri's ...

* 2009 ''Live in Amsterdam'', FAB Trio * 2009 ''

Trombone Tribe ''Trombone Tribe'' is an album by trombonist Roswell Rudd. It was recorded at various locations and was released in 2009 by Sunnyside Records. On the album, Rudd appears in different brass band combinations. On five tracks, Rudd appears in a sextet ...

'', Roswell Rudd * 2010 ''News? No News!'', Gebhard Ullmann-

Steve Swell Steve Swell (born in Newark, New Jersey, December 6, 1954) is an American free jazz trombonist, composer, and educator. Music career Swell studied at Jersey City State Teachers College before moving to New York City in 1975 where he began his m ...

Quartet

References

External links

* Allmusic.com biography {{DEFAULTSORT:Altschul, Barry 1943 births Living people American jazz drummers Musicians from New York City Musicians from New York (state) Muse Records artists 20th-century American drummers American male drummers Circle (jazz band) members Jazz musicians from New York (state) 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians 21st-century American drummers Sackville Records artists Improvising Artists Records artists 21st-century American male musicians American people of Russian-Jewish descent Jewish jazz musicians