Barry Altschul, born January 6, 1943 in New York City, is a jazz drummer that was free to play. He gained international fame with Chick Corea and Paul Bley in the 1960s. His first major gig was in the late 1960s with Paul Bley’s trio. He formed the band Circle in 1969 with Chick Corea and Dave Holland. He used a Gretsch kit that was high-pitched and had add-on drums. This he seamlessly integrated into a whirlwind sound. Altschul was a member of Anthony Braxton’s band, which included Kenny Wheeler and Dave Holland. Braxton was signed to Arista Records and was able secure enough money to travel with a variety of percussion instruments, strings, and winds. Altschul also performed with avant-garde musicians and Art Pepper, among other jazz artists. Altschul was also a leader and made several albums, but he spent most of his time in Europe after the mid-1980s. Altschul has been more prominent in recent years, making two sideman appearances with the FAB trio (with Joe Fonda and Billy Bang), and with the Jon IrabagonTrio recording “Foxy”. He also recorded with Adam Lane as the bassist. Altschul has recorded or played with many musicians including Roswell Rudd and Dave Liebman, Andrew Hill and Hampton Hawes. from http://en.wikipedia.org
