Jazz & Improvisation
Date Made: 1986-1987
Country: German Democratic Republic
Materials: paper
Measurements: 71.5 cm x 60 cm x 2 cm; 28 1/8 in x 23 5/8 in x 13/16 in; 71.5 cm x 60.5 cm x 2 cm; 28 1/8 in x 23 13/16 in x 13/16 in; 61.5 cm x 73 cm x 2 cm; 24 3/16 in x 28 3/4 in x 13/16 in; 62 cm x 51 cm; 24 7/16 in x 20 1/16 in
In this portfolio, Jürgen Haufe and Claus Weidensdorfer capture the pulsing, uncontrollable spirit of free jazz in the German Democratic Republic during the 1980s. The introductory text is written by Christoph Tannert and Matthias Creutziger. The portfolio focuses on six jazz musicians: Conrad Bauer, John Tchicai, Peter Brötzmann, Helmut "Joe" Sachse, Günter "Baby" Sommer, and Yosuke Yamashita. Bauer, Sachse and Sommer were East German, while Tchicai was from Denmark, Brötzmann from West Germany and Yamashita from Japan. The counter-cultural portfolio connects the international jazz world with the East German scene. Because of its improvisational and therefore unpredictable character, jazz music was steadily criticized by the East German state.
Accession Number: 2010.113.009