Hairy Bones: Peter Brotzmann and Toshinori Kondo together

Wednesday March 24, Vortex, London

Hairy Bones is the quartet of Peter Brotzmann on reeds, Toshinori Kondo on trumpet, Massimo Pupillo on electric bass and Paal Nilssen-Love on drums. The quartet is named after a CD they released in 2009 on Okka Disk.

The Vortex was full for a rare London concert by the foursome, although it doesn't seem that long ago that Brotzmann was in London, playing his January residency at Cafe Oto, itself a stone's throw from the Vortex.

On arrival, there were warning signs of how the evening would progress, as cotton wool ear plugs were being handed out by Vortex staff. As the staff had been present at the soundcheck, they knew what they were doing...

Once the band took the stage, there was no looking back. Right from the off, they generated a relentless barrage of sound, a barrage that was guaranteed to get the adrenaline pumping. This is a loud, electric band. Brotzmann, Kondo and Pupillo all employed amplification. Nilssen-Love didn't, but it was obvious that he was determined not to be outdone; throughout, he maintained an unrelenting onslaught which drove the band forward. The only let-up was during periods when Brotzmann and Kondo played as a duo. If you think that Last Exit was a loud band, you ain't heard nothing yet; try Hairy Bones.

As ever with Brotzmann, he generated a righteous blast that energised the rest of the band. Kondo was always ready to answer in kind. As we know from the Die Like a Dog band, the combination of Brotzmann and Kondo is a pairing made in heaven - so much so that it set me musing on other such sax/trumpet pairs. Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry named an album Twins in recognition of the bond between them. Other similarly close partnerships that come to mind are Bird/Diz, 'Trane/Miles, Mulligan/Baker, Rollins/Brown, Branford/Wynton Marsalis, Evan Parker/KennyWheeler. Any more spring to mind?