Anthony Braxton Music

This is a fantastic album that shows Braxton in a variety of formats, from solo to quintet, as well as on a variety of horns (sopranino, clarinet, piccolo, and alto). The recording quality is very good, and the sideman on this album are on top form, particularly bassist Dave Holland (who plays on three tracks) and trumpeter Kenny Wheeler (who plays on two tracks). Each track is interesting, but the most compelling playing is on the Dave Holland composition Four Winds. On this track, the band is the same as on the great _Conference of the Birds_ album, except the trombonist George Lewis replaces Sam Rivers. This album is great for anyone who enjoys, or is curious about, free improvisational music. The only downside is that there are none of the great diagrams that Braxton usually employs to name his tunes.
Other: Six tracks - two for solo alto saxophone, three for quartets of various compostion, and one cello/clarinet duet.

This compilation of recordings from 1972 to 1976 by Francesco Martinelli is an excellent starting point for orienting yourself within Braxton's discography.
Composition 23E features Braxton's quartet with Kenny Wheeler on the flugelhorn, Dave Holland on the bass and Barry Altschul on drums. Braxton's solo is one of his best, a dizzying dance that should be accessible to anyone who loves post-bop jazz.
Composition 8C is a beautifully melodic alto solo that shows off Braxton's tone. I think a lot of the negative reaction that people have to Braxton's music has to do with the way he plays with the tone of the saxophone. His great early solo album, For Alto, was the result of his investigations into the basic grammer of what he calls his "saxophone languages". For example, some of his pieces might be improvisations on the buzzing tone that the saxophone can produce. The fact that these efforts to exploit the full potential of the horn lead him away from traditional ideas on tone should not obscure the fact that he can play that way when he chooses. His playing on this composition is proof of that.
The third piece, Composition -1, dates from the great Town Hall concert that Braxton gave in 1972. It is a duet between him on clarinet with Dave Holland on the cello. Need I say more?
Compositon -2 is a recording of Braxton and Wheeler playing with French composer Antoine Duhamel on the piano and Francois Mechali on the bass. Duhamel playing on this piece is very intersting. I don't know of any other published recordings of this particular quartet.
Composition 8G is the other alto solo. It is more out there then the 8C solo as it features Braxton exploring various different ways to articulate the notes. Still it strikes me as very accessible to anyone with open ears. If you find you like the solo pieces then, by all means, go on to For Alto or Wesleyan (12 Alto Solos) or Solo (Koln)1978. Anthony Braxton's contributions to the emerging tradition of solo recordings by any and all horn types cannot be overstated. He started it, he inspired legions of others to do it and he continues to expand the possibilities.
The last piece, Four Winds, is by Dave Holland and was one of the highlights of Holland's Conference of the Birds (another great intro for anybody curious about free jazz or out jazz or whatever you want to call it). This time the quartet of Braxton, Holland and Altschul is filled out by George Lewis on the trombone. Lewis is among the finest of the sidemen that ever worked with Braxton. These guys tear into this song and solo with wit, passion and every bit of skill they possess. If you like this quartet, I suggest you also try Quintet (Basel) 1977 where they are also joined by Muhal Richard Abrams.
Finally, a note on the sound- it is not of the best studio quality as these recordings were all done live and probably not with the best equipment. But it is good enough to enjoy the great burst of creative genius that Braxton was at the time.
Give this CD a listen. No one has done more to break down all the false hierarchies of music theory or performance in the last forty years in any genre of music than Anthony Braxton. If you want just one CD to put that statement to your own personal test, this one is as good as any.

I am a fan of Braxton and enjoy all of his work, but this might be one of my favorites. I love the compositions and how they lead in to the freer parts. If you like this kind of music, you most likely don't mind listening for a long time and this is a hell of a listen.

At the risk of sullying my reputation, I must confess that I'm not quite sold on Anthony Braxton's work. Despite his near-deity status and numerous contributions to music in the last 40 years, many of his compositions and improvisations leave me feeling disoriented and confused, wondering whether I missed something. However, judging from the number of times Braxton has switched musical gears over the course of his life, his career is one founded upon unrest and a continual search for his ever-changing voice.

This double disc features a pair of compositions from Braxton's famed stint at the Oakland-based club Yoshi's, both examples of a "next level" of his work that he refers to as "Ghost Trance Music". Braxton explains this technique as "development of composed and improvised themes over figures that repeat with relatively minor variation, after the manner of ritual and spiritual music worldwide", summing it up with the words "more galactic".

"Composition N. 211" (disc one) begins in a soggy aggression; Professor Braxton and his cunning team lay into a throbbing flutter accentuated with a recurring ostinato, allowing the "wrong" instruments to take charge (read: double-reed instruments manning a beat equals a sloppy pulse) while percussionist Kevin Norton ticks his hi-hat and floats, barely audible, on a wash of toms that could be the melody. As this perpetual motion continues through most of the work, Braxton takes time to nod to legends Charlie Parker and Monk (another aspect of "Ghost Trance"), incorporate pointillistic elements (though he realizes it with microtonal glee), and form an alliance of Eastern and Western techniques from the last 100 years. Although the sutures might be light-years away, Kevin O'Neil's fingers flying over the frets in a near metal (sans distortion) manner, the ostinato returns regularly throughout the piece to provide a surprisingly cohesive form.

The second disc picks up where "Composition N. 212" leaves off. The band harps on the same groove, slowly expounding and cultivating this universe through an increase in tempo, speed of gestures and density of textures. Somewhere around the fifteen minute mark of "212" (both works are over 55 minutes in length), something clicks and you're hooked, a type of catch where everything fades away and the previous hour of music suddenly makes sense. It's very difficult to explain without providing actual examples from the disc, but perhaps this is the spiritual experience of which Braxton speaks. Logically, it follows a Lamonte Young aesthetic and John Cage's idea that something obtuse and unappealing, repeated a sufficient number of times, will turn from blasé to boring to intriguing.

Braxton's prolific work (I stopped counting after 35 releases) has alienated his professors, label execs, fans and peers, but he'll go down in history as one of the giants of music -- after all, what truly great progressive and chameleon-like artist is recognized and understood in his lifetime? As mentioned, I still doesn't quite get what he does, but I respect him and know that either his level of performance and composition is beyond my understanding, or he's the greatest imposter in the world. Either way, his message and craft are impressive. Ninetet is an inimitable slice of Braxton history in the making; as always, he seems to be a few paces ahead of everyone else.