When Peter Brötzmann played what would turn out to be his last ever concerts at Cafe OTO in February 2023, he played with such power it would have been hard for anyone present to believe he would never play publicly again, or that now exactly a year on we would be presenting this memorial to celebrate his life.

Peter supported Cafe OTO right from the start, playing his first residency here at a time when we were still finding our feet as a venue. Over the years he would play here in numerous configurations, from solo to the Tentet, in new formations with UK-based players, or alongside colleagues from Japan to Chicago. It has been one of the greatest honours of the venue to have Peter perform here so many times.

Over these three days we have brought together many of Peter’s key collaborators, from those who played with him in his very first groups to younger musicians he got to know towards the end of his life. The fact there are six decades between some of the musicians taking part is testament to Peter’s relentless creative curiosity and desire to encourage and work with players of all generations to push the music forward together.

Some of the musicians taking part have played together for over half a century and others have never played together before. Over the course of these three days there will be many premieres of new groups and possibly a few ad-hoc groupings as well. We are not attempting to recreate any of Peter’s past groups but to bring musicians he cared for together to remember him, celebrate his life and create new music.

When Peter entered the venue for his final residency he paused, put his hands on his hips, surveyed the room and said ‘it still smells the same’. Nothing will be the same without Peter. We hope you can join us in celebrating him.

Programme drawn from the list of artists below - please click on the event links above for full programming breakdown for each day.

Caspar Brötzmann
Mats Gustafsson
Evan Parker
Zoh Amba
Alexander von Schlippenbach
Farida Amadou
Jason Adasiewicz
Heather Leigh
John Edwards
Sven-Åke Johansson
Steve Noble
Camille Emaille
Fred Lonberg-Holm
Pat Thomas
Ken Vandermark
Paal Nilssen-Love
Han Bennink
Hans Peter Hiby
Hamid Drake
William Parker
Joe McPhee

Presented by Cafe OTO and

Supported by the Goethe-Institut London