Just Music (band)

Just Music
Just Music 1968
Background information
Origin	Frankfurt/Main, West Germany
Genres	Experimental, Free improvisation
Years active	1967–1972
Labels	ECM, CBS, self production
Associated acts	E.M.T.
Past members	Alfred Harth Dieter Herrmann Johannes Krämer Thomas Stoewsand Franz Volhard Peter Stock Thomas Cremer

Just Music were a West German avant-garde music ensemble, an interchangeable collective of classically trained instrumentalists founded at the centrum freier cunst, Frankfurt/Main in 1967 by multi-instrumentalist Alfred Harth. An inherent anti-commercial bias kept them at arm's length from the mainstream music business, enabling them to experiment at will. "Ein Modell fuer annaehernd herrschaftsfreie Kommunikation und Interaktion" (Flyer, March 1969). Just Music changed their name several times depending on the context.
Other names are New Thing Orchestra, Free Jazz Orkestra Frankfurt, Panta Rei and urKult.

Alfred Harth had founded the club H in 1965 and then the meeting point and platform centrum freier cunst in Frankfurt/Main starting with his essay "On Synaesthetics" in 1967 and the vision of synthesizing avant-garde art, avant-garde music and avant-garde literature. It became an open exchange and performance place for young experimental artists, poets and musicians in the Frankfurt area with the Just Music ensemble as a main creative pool. American clarinetist Tony Scott played there with Just Music and also in the following years Harth and Just Music kept open to perform with many others as the German musicians trumpetist and composer Michael Sell (with the Free Jazz Group Wiesbaden), saxophonist Peter Brötzmann and tuba and bassplayer Peter Kowald, Czech flutist Jiri Stivin, members of the AACM, Polish violinist Zbigniew Seifert, American saxophonist Anthony Braxton a.o. In 1969, Just Music recorded the 2nd LP (1002) for Manfred Eicher's label ECM and Thomas Cremer, Harth and Thomas Stöwsand made a joint performance with the Nicole Van den Plas Trio from Belgium at the San Sebastian Jazz Festival in Spain. From then on Just Music also worked in cooperation with members of the Nicole Van den Plas Trio. In 1971 Harth and Van den Plas started to focus on duo works and in 1972 with guests as Peter Kowald and drummer Paul Lovens a.o. in Belgium which later in the same year lead to the foundation of the group E.M.T. when Just Music had performed their last concerts with partly exchanged members in Poland.