Influences on Jaki Liebezeit?

[Tsundoku]

I've been listening to Tago Mago again this week and am continually blown away by the drumming. Does anyone have any specifics, ideas or info about who might have influenced Liebezeit? I can find references (via Wiki) to him being a free jazz drummer in Manfred Schoof's group in the early '60s and I found a reference somewhere else to him being disappointed with his work in jazz groups. Anyone got any further ideas?

Here's a drum solo to keep you all entertained.

[Cacapo]

a very young Jakie can be heard on on of these Xian Jazzmesse 45s from Schwann (it might be a different one/ I'd have to go to the basemen to check .

[Pete Um]

According to Cope in Krautrocksampler some freak had a go at Liebezeit after a show for playing free and told him to play "monotonously", and he experienced this as a blinding flash of Truth. If I knew who the freak was I would shake his hand.

[treeboy]

In the Pascal Bussy/ Andy Hall book,there's reference to the unnamed Cuban bass player Jaki played with in Spain. Apparently this chap had played with Chano Pozo, a Cuban drummer who had learnt many "secret" voodoo rhythms, which the bass player had tapped into, and Jaki was impressed with. It seems it's not the done thing to perform said rhythms in public , and Chano came to a sticky end. Version one has it that he was executed on stage, the alternative is that he was gunned down in an argument over drugs! All very colourful, but it does seem that the influence of the Cuban bass player (sorry, I don't know his name) on Jakis playing was quite profound.
It's quite amusing to hear Jaki talk about the "restrictions" of Free Jazz. He wanted to play rhythm, and the bands he was with poured scorn on that idea. Interestingly, he maintains he never played a drum solo!
There's an illuminating interview with Jaki by Wolf Kampmann in the Can Box Book. You may be able to track the text down online if you don't have the book itself.

[Xann]

He made me want to pick up the sticks.

Then throw them down in disgust.

Someone who worked with him told me he warmed up by just hitting the snare, left hand, right hand - really, really slowly.

Almost imperceptibly over time he accelerated to warp speed.

The witness was no slouch himself, had worked with some the best - He was just amazed by Jaki's skills.

The two hemispheres of his brain must be welded together.

[Tsundoku]

This is all fascinating stuff, thank you. I love the idea that Liebezeit was influenced by secret voodoo rhythms.

Exoticism aside, I'm fascinated with the Chano Pozo link, it's not a connection I would ever have made.

I love the story about monotony that Pete Um posted above. Seems absolutely believable.

[Ken Ward]

Saw can at the old Mayfair in Newcastle where you could see the band from above. Irmin Schmidt was wearing that daft ring pull waistcoat thing. But watching Liebezeit you could see one foot and hand knocking out this Tamla/Soul rhythm and the other foot and hand doing extraordinary poly rhythms and fills. The best view ever!

[babycart]

In the Pascal Bussy/ Andy Hall book,there's reference to the unnamed Cuban bass player Jaki played with in Spain. Apparently this chap had played with Chano Pozo, a Cuban drummer who had learnt many "secret" voodoo rhythms, which the bass player had tapped into, and Jaki was impressed with. It seems it's not the done thing to perform said rhythms in public , and Chano came to a sticky end. Version one has it that he was executed on stage, the alternative is that he was gunned down in an argument over drugs! All very colourful, but it does seem that the influence of the Cuban bass player (sorry, I don't know his name) on Jakis playing was quite profound.

The Chano Pozo forbidden voodoo rhythms story is vintage jazz bollocks.
Pozo was a genius, but he was also a bad lad who got shot in a drug dispute. There´s no evidence that he was a member of the abakua secret society, but even if he was, abakua rhythms are widespread in Cuban music and they certainly don´t go round executing traitors.

The worst that can happen with a forbidden voodoo rhythm is that the room gets all windy and Roy Castle looks a bit worried.

[treeboy]

Well I did say it was colourful! Just flagging up what was in the book. Man, I'd be worried if it got a bit windy and Roy Castle WAS in the room
Any ideas on the bass player Babycart?

[babycart]

Any ideas on the bass player Babycart?

No idea, really. .
Cachao lived and played in Madrid for a year or so in the mid-60s, and is the only one I can think of old enough to have had contact with Chano.
Tito Duarte was a Cuban multi-instrumentalist who came to Spain after the Cuban revolution, but he was two when Chano died.
but I guess there were plenty more Cubans in Spain at the time. Communist Cuba had a strangely close relationship with fascist Spain.