Peter Kowald
b. 21 April 1944, Masserberg, Germany. Kowald, who plays bass, tuba and alphorn, is one of the key figures in the development of European improvisation. Before he became a professional musician he was a translator, and his multilingual abilities have stood him in good stead on his travels. Kowald opened up the contacts between the German free-jazzers and their British counterparts, and played with the Spontaneous Music Ensemble in London in 1967. He was responsible for bringing Peter Brötzmann and Dutch drummer Han Bennink together, and that there exists a Greek free-jazz scene at all has much to do with his endeavours. Kowald was also one of the first of his generation of players to journey to the USA and Japan. He was also instrumental in the revival of Globe Unity in 1973 and for five years co-led this free orchestra with Alexander von Schlippenbach. Globe Unity's JAHRMARKT/LOCAL FAIR (1977), on which the improvisers encounter a Greek folk group and 25 Wuppertal accordion players, is a typically Utopian Kowald project.