Apparently Kowald, one of the great bassists of our time, died early this morning of a heart attack in New York City. Kowald played on many a great LP, including Brotzmann's
Machine Gun. I met him in early June at the Vision Fest, and he seemed like a nice guy. He will be missed.
― hstencil, Saturday, 21 September 2002 23:21 (twenty-three years ago)
This is indeed sad. One of the absolute highlights of my youth was when I sat in with the John Stevens group when they played the Third Eye Centre in Glasgow back in about 1980. Peter K was on bass; Harry Beckett, trumpet; Trevor Watts and Elton Dean, saxes; me on piano and Grade VI tenor sax. I'd read so much about the supposed snobbery and cliquishness of certain London-based improvisers but couldn't believe how kind and generous John and the guys were; they were exceptionally encouraging and open-minded (though maybe they were just intrigued by a 16-year-old lad being so much into Improv?) and Elton in particular had a great story about Captain Sensible meeting him at a petrol station and begging him for his autograph: "so clearly punk was a bloody good thing, it's let us lot back in!"
Now both John and Peter are gone...and of course, that's both the Machine Gun/Globe Unity bassists (Buschi Niebergall was the other) now departed. Very very sad news.
― Marcello Carlin, Monday, 23 September 2002 08:58 (twenty-three years ago)
oh bummer. did i tell you he was playing (w/ peter brotzman) one of the 1st times i met george gosset? (yes i'm sure i did)
― unknown or illegal user (doorag), Monday, 23 September 2002 10:29 (twenty-three years ago)
Here's the only formal obit I've seen:
Modern /free jazz great, bassist Peter Kowald from Wuppertal Germany passed away at 2:00 am Saturday September 21, 2002 in NYC.
2002-09-21
Kowald died of a heart attack at the home of Patricia and William Parker after playing a concert in Williamsburg, Brooklyn at B.T.M. with Masahiko Kono, Tatsuya Nakatani and Kazuhisa Uchihashi. Emergency workers tried to save him working intensely for 45 minutes.
Details regarding funeral arrangements and a memorial will be posted when we receive them.
Peter Kowald distinguished himself as one of the leading players of the free school style of improvising was well know and respected on both sides of the Atlantic both in his native Germany and in his adopted home of New York City by musicians and fans alike. He made numerous recordings for the German FMP label with his long time collaborators Peter Brotzman and Alxeander von Schlippenbach. From 1973 to 1978 he was the principal bassist for the Globe Unity Orchestra. Kowald has participated in a wide variety of collaborations, working with dancers, poets and artists, in addition to all of the musicians he has worked with. Kowald has recorded many duos with European, Japanese and U.S. musicians -- including bass duets with Barre Phillips, Joëlle Léandre and Barry Guy -- and recorded in groups with Greek musicians Floros Floridis and Ilias Papadopoulos while Kowald lived in Greece. He has also released solo bass recordings, the most recent being Was Da Ist, the result of a self-proclaimed year at home, which ended in May 1995. Kowald has also performed in groups with Fred Anderson, Wadada Leo Smith, and Gunter Sommer In 2000, he went on a solo tour of the U.S., traveling by station wagon. Since settling in New York Peter established himself with many of the important players on the Downtown scene most notably William Parker. At this years Vision Fest in New York City Peter was a ubiquitious prescence both as a performer and working the food stand [note: that's where/when I met him -hstencil]. He was a lovely and generous spirit who will be missed by his many fans.
― hstencil, Monday, 23 September 2002 17:47 (twenty-three years ago)