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Pica Pica is a live album by saxophonist Peter Brötzmann, trombonist Albert Mangelsdorff, and drummer Günter Sommer. It was recorded on September 18, 1982, at the Stadthalle in Unna, Germany during Jazzfest Unna, and was released in 1984 by FMP/Free Music Production. In 2006, the album was reissued on CD by Atavistic Records as part of their Unheard Music Series.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
The Penguin Guide to Jazz
Tom Hull – on the Web	B+
All About Jazz
Slant Magazine

In a review for AllMusic, Thom Jurek wrote: "There is an interesting contrast of styles here, given the formalist tradition Mangelsdorff came from and the staunch vanguardism of Brötzmann and Sommer. Of course, this is a blowing session that took place at a German Jazzfest and those contrasts work here to the betterment of the music... For those who need new infusions of this sort of thing, it's certainly for you."

The authors of The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings stated that the musicians' "interplay on 'Instant Tears' is breathtaking, eminence speaking to eminence."

Writing for All About Jazz, James Taylor commented: "What makes Pica Pica so amazing is not that Brötzmann backs off or confines himself to give Mangelsdorff space. The trombonist offers respite to the fits of aggression from the saxophonist, and Brötzmann can't help but adapt to the repetitive accompaniment of Mangelsdorff, which makes Pica Pica far more listenable than much of Brötzmann's catalog." AAJ's Clifford Allen remarked: "Brötzmann always had an ear for drummers, and it's a shame that... he wasn't able to use Sommer more often. Of course, this ear stretches across countries, traditions, political lines and generations, embracing the possibility in the process."

Slant Magazine's R. Emmet Sweeney called the album "an intimate affair that still shakes the rafters," and praised the passages in "Instant Tears" when Brötzmann and Mangelsdorff join forces, noting: "The moments when these two finally harmonize are genuinely elevating—it sounds like a conversation between peers."

Ken Waxman of JazzWord stated that the album "offers proof positive that the hard-driving reedist can easily hold up his side in an all-star trio configuration," but singled out Sommer's contributions for praise, writing that his "tambourine shuddering cymbal raps, intense cross sticking and triplet flams and rattles add heaving tension to the tunes, which take on new dimensions when he releases the beat. As the trombonist and reedist bluster away on two long improvisations and the short title track, Sommer contributes blunt polyrhythms, using sticks, brushes, palms and fists to provide vivid brush strokes of aural color."

Track listing

"Instant Tears" – 20:43
"Wie Du Mir, So Ich Dir Noch Lange Nicht" – 17:05
"Pica, Pica" – 3:59

Personnel

Peter Brötzmann – alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, tárogató
Albert Mangelsdorff – trombone
Günter Sommer – drums, horn

References

^ Jurek, Thom. "Peter Brötzmann: Pica Pica". AllMusic. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
"Peter Brötzmann - Pica Pica". Jazz Music Archives. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
"FMP discography: main FMP series of LPs". JazzLists. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
"FMP 1050 Pica pica". EFI. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
"Atavistic Unheard Music Series UMS/ALP258CD Pica Pica". EFI. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
"FMP 1030 / Pica Pica / Brötzmann/Mangelsdorff/Sommer". FMP/Free Music Production. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. Penguin Books. p. 177.
Hull, Tom. "Grade List: Peter Brotzmann". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
^ Taylor, James (September 5, 2006). "Brotzmann / Mangelsdorff / Sommer: Pica Pica". All About Jazz. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
^ Sweeney, R. Emmet (July 18, 2006). "Review: Brötzmann / Mangelsdorff / Sommer, Pica Pica". Slant Magazine. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
Allen, Clifford (October 7, 2006). "Peter Brotzmann: Schwarzwaldfahrt, Alarm And Pica Pica". All About Jazz. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
Waxman, Ken (November 14, 2006). "Pica Pica". JazzWord. Retrieved January 18, 2023.

v t e Peter Brötzmann
Years given are for the recording(s), not first release, unless stated otherwise.
Studio albums	For Adolphe Sax (1967) Machine Gun (1968) Nipples (1969) Brötzmann/Van Hove/Bennink (1973) Schwarzwaldfahrt (1977) The Nearer the Bone, the Sweeter the Meat (1979) Low Life (1987) Last Home (1990) Songlines (1991) The Dried Rat–Dog (1994) Tales Out of Time (2002) Still Quite Popular After All Those Years (2004) I Surrender Dear (2018) Memories of a Tunicate (2019)
Live albums	Fuck de Boere (1968 & 1970) 3 Points and a Mountain (1979) Opened, But Hardly Touched (1980) Alarm (1981) Andrew Cyrille Meets Brötzmann in Berlin (1982) Pica Pica (1982) Berlin Djungle (1984) Whatthefuckdoyouwant (1987) Hyperion (1992) Die Like a Dog (1993) Live at the Empty Bottle (1996) The Wels Concert (1996) The Chicago Octet/Tentet (1997) Little Birds Have Fast Hearts (1997) From Valley to Valley (1998) Stone/Water (1999) Aoyama Crows (1999) Never Too Late But Always Too Early (2001) Historic Music Past Tense Future (2002) The Bishop's Move (2003) Guts (2005) American Landscapes (2006) Lost & Found (2006) The Brain of the Dog in Section (2007) Woodcuts (2008) 3 Nights in Oslo (2009) Mental Shake (2013) The intellect given birth to here (eternity) is too young (2018) The Catch of a Ghost (2019)
Related articles	Last Exit Globe Unity Orchestra

v t e Günter Sommer
Years given are for the recording(s), not first release, unless stated otherwise.
Studio albums	Between Heaven and Earth (2001) Wisdom in Time (2006)
Live albums	Touch the Earth (1979) If You Want the Kernels You Have to Break the Shells (1981) Pica Pica (1982) Irène Schweizer & Günter Sommer (1987) Riobec (1988) Bib (1992)

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