Listening tip: Dietrichs – live Bahdu

Dietrichs – Live Bahdu

On March 27, Relative Pitch Records released Live Bahdu, a recording of the Dietrichs’ concert at the Ear We Are Festival in Biel 2025.

I knew immediately that I had to listen to it, because I had been there in the hall myself. And I must say, rarely, truly rarely, has a concert knocked me off my feet like this one by Don Dietrich, the legendary free jazz saxophonist, and his wild, classical trained cellist daughter Camille Dietrich.

These two are not for the faint of heart. A hardcore duo from the New York avant-garde, experimental, and improvised music scene.

I was equipped with earplugs back in Biel, and yet, with the very first notes, I was already breathless from the sheer sonic force. They throw themselves into a sonic power that overwhelms and completely captivates. Freedom, loud. Radicality without compromise. The music is pushed to its extreme, and precisely there a beauty, a primal force unfolds that deeply fascinates me.

I am not sure if “raw” is the right word. For here, two musicians play with absolute assurance. It seems more as if they strip all the agreeable elements from music and reveal beneath them a living, endless body, profoundly present and yet infused with a genius that transcends all eras. The entire evolution of music is contained within, but it only becomes valid the moment they touch it, break it open, and recreate it. This duo repeatedly pushed me to my limits and beyond. Breathtaking.

I admit I approach the recording slowly. I first listen with headphones, and it feels strange to suddenly have to control the volume myself. Then I play it through speakers, letting the sound fill the room. Naturally, never with the power of the concert, but it allows me to follow more consciously how incredible they are at playing, composing, and constantly throwing themselves anew into freedom.

Unique, in my opinion. Unpretentious. I love this recording. The Dietrichs, two musicians devoted to the madness of sound.

And here are a few lines from their Bandcamp description:

«They do not simply play together, they overwhelm. Their sound floods the room, swallows the air, penetrates the senses, and leaves an audience shaken, intoxicated, and still profoundly affected long after the last note has faded.»

https://relativepitchrecords.bandcamp.com/album/live-bahdu