Anthony Braxton Music

Very interesting free communication between two of the giants of modern improvised music. They flutter, hover, scream and joust with one another in music that is both confrontational and cooperative. At times guitarist Fred Frith sounds like two guitarists, I'd love to have seen his setup. Though in general he takes a more supportive role. Anthony Braxton's woodwinds dominate the proceedings by sheer forcefulness of tone and the dervish-like swirl of his arpeggios. Together these two make some fine and complex music that demands to be listened to, in other words it's not for casual entertainment. I find myself needing to be in the mood and prepared to listen in order to fully appreciate it's conversational and unconventional charms. Folks familiar with the works of these two men or free music are going to like this, others who prefer more rhythm or overt structure to their jazz (if you want to call it that) should look elsewhere.

Our requirements from such a persons like Braxton and Frith are always high. I was not disappointed. Cooperation of two individuals is perfect.

1. STARP
2. 73 DEGREES -A KELVIN
3. BALLAD
4. DUET FOR BASS AND PIANO #1
5. DUET FOR BASS AND PIANO #2
6. DANSE FOR CLARINET AND PIANO #1
7. DANSE FOR CLARINET AND PIANO #2
8. CHIMES I
9. CHIMES II
10. PERCUSSION PIECE

Anthony Braxton works his way through eight Lennie Tristiano songs, one by Warne Marsh, and two standards (one by Irving Berlin). As usual, Braxton breaks out the arsenal of woodwinds on which he is proficient but for this recording limits himself to using members of the sax and flute family. Jon Raskin contributes baritone sax to several cuts; I'm not familiar with the original Tristiano recordings but putting the baritone on the front line suits the compositions well. An almost flawless recording that might be a revelation to those naysayers that claim that Braxton can't play jazz (ie: "standards"). Flaw? Some songs tear along at a breakneck tempo that forces the soloists to make a display of technique rather than expression. Still good, though.

With John Raskin, baritone sax; Dred Scott, piano; Cecil McBee, bass; Andrew Cyrille, drums.

It is well known among jazz fans that Anthony Braxton and Peter Brotzmann are legends of creative music. A couple things about this recording really inspired my curiosity: 1. It was the first time in a couple decades that Braxton and Brotzmann had recorded together. (I think the other meetings, if I'm not mistaken, were during Company sessions and with Globe Unity.) 2. It was the first time that Braxton had recorded with Bergman, who is a wonderful pianist. With Brotzmann's reputation for intense improvisations and Braxton's reputation for using complex compositional structures, it would seem like this session would be a "can't miss," right?

Well, even after listening to this CD repeatedly, I can't help but think that this session left something to be desired. The liner notes state that "No rehearsal and no discussion preceded the making of the album." Everything appears to be improvised, which is fine; the only problem is that most of the pieces share remarkably similar textures and creative interplay. It would have been nice if Braxton and Brotzmann would have steered away from a wholly improvised recording and composed something together. But I guess if they wanted to do that, they would have done it. I still recommend the album for any serious fan of Braxton, Brotzmann, or Bergman. But for people who are fairly new to the music of these artists, I would suggest looking towards some of their other recordings. These musicians are truly magnificent; it is just that this is not one of their more cohesive and profound efforts.

By the way, the liner notes are pretty bizarre. Bill Shoemaker, instead of providing useful information about the artists and the recording, gets up on his soapbox and gives his take on the "what is jazz/role of jazz" issue. His comments, while they would have been interesting in another context (such as in a jazz periodical), are really misplaced as liner notes to this recording. Save it for another day, Bill.

Evan Parker is one of the greats, and here he is with just drums, purity of means and purity of intent. This is "easy listening" Avant Garde, not harsh, but pleasant, and foot tapping.