Anthony Braxton Music

First off, this CD is stereo-channelled (I think? maybe not) intensity, increasing exponentially with amplification. Mood music for breaking through that last layer of existential despair and finding fleeting fulfillment amidst the harshness oft-offered by reality.

Both parties involved have been peddling their wares at the edge of structure in their respective 'genres' (for you pre-postmodern dialecticians) for a while (Braxton in 'free jazz' for 40-odd years, Wolf Eyes in 'i dont know let's call it noise' for 10-odd). Hearing the two playing together (on a live set in Canada in 2005 . . . or 2004?) could be the germ for some fantastic theories regarding the dissolving of (aforementioned) 'genre', or just the rad similarities between free thinkers, wheree'er they may hang their tasselled cap or AC/DC tour shirt . . .

This set is awesome, historical, mind-numbing (who needs a mind to listen to music?), and deep like a very deep puddle of iridescent oil mixed with mud old and new. If you enjoy either of these artists (though Anthony falls back a bit in the mix sometimes), this CD will make you grimace in enjoyment.

Wolf Eyes - The pulsing and progression of impossibly haunting sounds, musically crafted and structured to elongate the tension of hearing the raw sounds of metal against metal; unatural sounds fed to the natural human ear.

Anthony Braxton - Sophisticated, forward-thinking genius music; the prodigious performance of all imaginable reed instruments combined with concept-filled, insanity-ridden pulses, squeals, and howls.

Neither artists are for the faint of heart, or those with short attention spans, but never would anybody have thought to see both these artists on the same album cover together. Victo presents: Wolf Eyes and Anthony Braxton - Black Vomit.

This 2006 release is completed by only two tracks - one scaling past the 25 minute mark, and the other barely reaching eight minutes. A short release, sure, but one with absolutely no extra fat or preservatives. This is an unlikely combination, though it is willing to take you on a journey that is both expressive and odd; the perfect reaction to a musical work.

I will describe the first track for you to give you an idea of the atmosphere this album sets:

The first track, "The Mangler", is a slowly-progressing piece comprised of approximately five movements - each more insane than the last. The piece begins with the clashing and clanking of different metallic, factory-like sounds, building one upon another, in unison, in tune. Braxton's sax comes in and saves the audience from sheer madness which would have been caused with over-exposure to this noise, to bring us a more melodic, more animated sound. But no dice - it quickly turns into sheer chaos again, with Braxton squealing his face off and creating melted colors sound, lacking in harmonics of any sort. The clanking grows LOUDER - and then a silence. And then some noise - some that is slightly too soft, to only be followed with an EXPLOSION of sound from every direction imaginable; Braxton is wailing with his different reed instruments, as if there is no tomorrow, as if all the world's fears have been placed into one large, expansive sphere of sound. The two unique artists appear to be playing off of each other, responding to the madness created by the previous person. And then the sound drops. We regain conciousnes, but the music has died. We've returned home, and are probably unsure of what just happened.

Want to experience this journey? Want to feel things that you won't feel from many other albums? This is the album for you, then. Put it on your CD deck, make sure to have fantastic speakers (omni-directional drivers are preferable) and dim the lights. Close your eyes and prepare to be terrified.

Wuorinen's Fenton Songs are fantastic and they alone justify the cost of this disc. Also worthy here--Anderson's Ear Conception is very beautiful. Robert Pollock's Cygnature Piece is great fun. Chester Biscardi's precious little guitar duo I found very memorable. Among the good natured fluff on this recording--for me John Halle's Spooks stands out.

The Cygnus ensemble consists of guitars, mandolines, violin, cello, flute and oboe. They play regularly in New York City, and they have toured in Holland, Denmark, Poland, Russia, Mexico and the U.S. Because their instrumentation is absolutely unique most of their music was written for them, and in the case of the Braxton piece, they are improvising to a large extent.

Sebastian Currier's Broken Consort is the title track, it's a fun piece with Stravinskian drive, building to almost cacophonic density before subsiding into a very beautiful ending. I like the opening which builds up to a V-I, a grand joke on the scale of Phillip Johnson's AT&T building with its big chippendale on the top.

John Halle's piece is fun and sparkling with very inventive textures and subversive machinations. It is very well put together--despite its outward charm and excessibility Halle's movement from one section to the next is quite sophisticated and compelling.

Wuorinen's Fenton Songs--if you've ever been told that Wuorinen's music is academic this will cure you of that impression. These are four lush, deep, penetrating settings of poems by the great British poet who writes so often for the NY Review of Books.

Biscari's guitar duo, Resisting Stillness, is gorgeous with wonderful unison pitches between the instruments and rich chordal textures.

David Lang's Frag is a bizarre little experiment for oboe, flute and cello.

Anderson's septet (cygnus joined by a glass harmonica) is in two movements, the first being very Roccoco with too beautiful harmonies swirling about with guitar filigree interlaced among the sustaining instruments. The second movement is faster and it builds into surprising contrapuntal patterns which become ever more light and fleet until the end.

Anthony Braxton's piece is largely improvisatory. It is fun when you learn to let go of all expectations about what music is supposed to do and just go along for the ride. It's a happening, frozen in magnetic media.

Robert Pollock's Cygnature Piece is rollicking and very witty, yet despite its being perfectly accessible, Pollock's language here is very new, and often surprising.

The Cygnus ensemble consists of guitars, mandolines, violin, cello, flute and oboe. They play regularly in New York City, and they have toured in Holland, Denmark, Poland, Russia, Mexico and the U.S. Because their instrumentation is absolutely unique most of their music was written for them, and in the case of the Braxton piece, they are improvising to a large extent.

Sebastian Currier's Broken Consort is the title track, it's a fun piece with Stravinskian drive, building to almost cacophonic density before subsiding into a very beautiful ending. I like the opening which builds up to a V-I, a grand joke on the scale of Phillip Johnson's AT&T building with its big chippendale on the top.

John Halle's piece is fun and sparkling with very inventive textures and subversive machinations. It is very well put together--despite its outward charm and excessibility Halle's movement from one section to the next is quite sophisticated and compelling.

Wuorinen's Fenton Songs--if you've ever been told that Wuorinen's music is academic this will cure you of that impression. These are four lush, deep, penetrating settings of poems by the great British poet who writes so often for the NY Review of Books.

Biscari's guitar duo, Resisting Stillness, is gorgeous with wonderful unison pitches between the instruments and rich chordal textures.

David Lang's Frag is a bizarre little experiment for oboe, flute and cello.

Anderson's septet (cygnus joined by a glass harmonica) is in two movements, the first being very Roccoco with too beautiful harmonies swirling about with guitar filigree interlaced among the sustaining instruments. The second movement is faster and it builds into surprising contrapuntal patterns which become ever more light and fleet until the end.

Anthony Braxton's piece is largely improvisatory. It is fun when you learn to let go of all expectations about what music is supposed to do and just go along for the ride. It's a happening, frozen in magnetic media.

Robert Pollock's Cygnature Piece is rollicking and very witty, yet despite its being perfectly accessible, Pollock's language here is very new, and often surprising.

..but can't jam the changes. Braxton and his ringers have pulled a fast one. (Although I think Ari Brown keeps almost playing, and has to check himself; Mingelberg forgot how, about 15,000 brownies ago).
Ornette, like Braxton a Macarthur Genius Grant Winner, started this mess with his version of Klaktoveesedstene with Paul Bley at the Hillcrest Club.
Insert some joke about "returns"

This is not just the usual be-bop style playing of Praker (and some other be-bop musicians), Brexton takes the music and recerate it by making it much more compose on one hand, and much more wild one the same time (if this possible), the level of playing is very high, and the 2 CD's are very differnt. One is more analitic while the other is more free with much wilder solos. Mish Mangelbre playing is great as usual.

Do NOT get this if you want an easy-to-listen-to bop record. Instead of faithfully reproducing the sounds of the bebop era, Braxton captures it spirit by playing something very fresh and original. The solos and even the statements of the themes are somewhat wilder than that on one of Parkers CDs, but the material is still reasonably listenable (certainly so for fans of avant-garde jazz). Braxton is one of the more innovative modern jazz musicians, and I don't think anyone familiar with him would have expected to here a traditional performance of the material.

..but can't jam the changes. Braxton and his ringers have pulled a fast one. (Although I think Ari Brown keeps almost playing, and has to check himself; Mingelberg forgot how, about 15,000 brownies ago).
Ornette, like Braxton a Macarthur Genius Grant Winner, started this mess with his version of Klaktoveesedstene with Paul Bley at the Hillcrest Club.
Insert some joke about "returns"

This is not just the usual be-bop style playing of Praker (and some other be-bop musicians), Brexton takes the music and recerate it by making it much more compose on one hand, and much more wild one the same time (if this possible), the level of playing is very high, and the 2 CD's are very differnt. One is more analitic while the other is more free with much wilder solos. Mish Mangelbre playing is great as usual.

Do NOT get this if you want an easy-to-listen-to bop record. Instead of faithfully reproducing the sounds of the bebop era, Braxton captures it spirit by playing something very fresh and original. The solos and even the statements of the themes are somewhat wilder than that on one of Parkers CDs, but the material is still reasonably listenable (certainly so for fans of avant-garde jazz). Braxton is one of the more innovative modern jazz musicians, and I don't think anyone familiar with him would have expected to here a traditional performance of the material.

..but can't jam the changes. Braxton and his ringers have pulled a fast one. (Although I think Ari Brown keeps almost playing, and has to check himself; Mingelberg forgot how, about 15,000 brownies ago).
Ornette, like Braxton a Macarthur Genius Grant Winner, started this mess with his version of Klaktoveesedstene with Paul Bley at the Hillcrest Club.
Insert some joke about "returns"

This is not just the usual be-bop style playing of Praker (and some other be-bop musicians), Brexton takes the music and recerate it by making it much more compose on one hand, and much more wild one the same time (if this possible), the level of playing is very high, and the 2 CD's are very differnt. One is more analitic while the other is more free with much wilder solos. Mish Mangelbre playing is great as usual.

Do NOT get this if you want an easy-to-listen-to bop record. Instead of faithfully reproducing the sounds of the bebop era, Braxton captures it spirit by playing something very fresh and original. The solos and even the statements of the themes are somewhat wilder than that on one of Parkers CDs, but the material is still reasonably listenable (certainly so for fans of avant-garde jazz). Braxton is one of the more innovative modern jazz musicians, and I don't think anyone familiar with him would have expected to here a traditional performance of the material.

..but can't jam the changes. Braxton and his ringers have pulled a fast one. (Although I think Ari Brown keeps almost playing, and has to check himself; Mingelberg forgot how, about 15,000 brownies ago).
Ornette, like Braxton a Macarthur Genius Grant Winner, started this mess with his version of Klaktoveesedstene with Paul Bley at the Hillcrest Club.
Insert some joke about "returns"

This is not just the usual be-bop style playing of Praker (and some other be-bop musicians), Brexton takes the music and recerate it by making it much more compose on one hand, and much more wild one the same time (if this possible), the level of playing is very high, and the 2 CD's are very differnt. One is more analitic while the other is more free with much wilder solos. Mish Mangelbre playing is great as usual.

Do NOT get this if you want an easy-to-listen-to bop record. Instead of faithfully reproducing the sounds of the bebop era, Braxton captures it spirit by playing something very fresh and original. The solos and even the statements of the themes are somewhat wilder than that on one of Parkers CDs, but the material is still reasonably listenable (certainly so for fans of avant-garde jazz). Braxton is one of the more innovative modern jazz musicians, and I don't think anyone familiar with him would have expected to here a traditional performance of the material.

It is superfluous to cite Anthony Braxton's credentials as a genius of modern music, so I'll let his reputation stand for itself. This album features a number of different settings, recorded for Arista in 1971.

Three quartet tracks feature Mr. Braxton on various woodwinds, Kenny Wheeler on trumpet and flugelhorn, Dave Holland on bass and cello, and Barry Altschul on drums and other percussion. One track has the quartet improvising very sparse, quiet structures; another features ferocious swing; the third is somewhere in between, swinging on its own odd terms. Mr. Braxton (on sopranino) duets with Chick Corea on two tracks, blurring (as Braxton always does) the difference between composition and improvisation. It's a shame that Mr. Corea didn't go farther in the directions that he pursued in this and other Braxton groups.

Braxton plays alone on two odd tracks, one for contrabass clarinet, the other on four overdubbed sopranino sax parts. The London Tuba Ensemble also makes an appearance. Braxton's composition for this group is Webern-esque, but with a few blues/funk hooks thrown in for good measure.

Mr. Braxton, in interviews, has bristled at this album being titled "Complete." On the one hand, I agree, but on the other this does give a round-up of many facets of Braxton's 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.