Willem Breuker

Willem Breuker's boundless passion pours out of his clarinet, making his recordings and concerts an experience, a thrill ride. In his teens he discovered the avant-garde classical music of Arnold Schoenberg and Edgard Varèse, and was prompted to compose. In 1966 he organized a 23-piece orchestra to play his composition "Litany," a politically-charged piece which stoked national controversy. The following year he founded the Instant Composers Pool with Han Bennink and Misha Mengelberg, unveiling an absurdist approach to performance. In 1974 Breuker found the BVHaast label and initiated the Willem Breuker Kollektief, a remarkable band that mixes various schools of jazz (from New Orleans to the avant-garde), marching band music, film and theatre scores, cabaret, Latin, and classical with hilarious, deadpan clowning.