Anthony Braxton
Anthony Braxton (born June 4, 1945 in Chicago) is an American composer, saxophonist, clarinettist, flautist, pianist and philosopher. Inspired by John Cage and Karlheinz Stockhausen as much as John Coltrane and Charlie Parker, Anthony Braxton has crafted an immense body of highly complex work. Though Braxton is hardly known to the casual listener he is certainly one of the most prolific American musicians/composers to date, having released well over 100 albums since the 1960s. In 1994 he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship. Braxton plays a multitude of instruments including the flute; the sopranino, soprano, C-Melody, F alto, E-flat alto, baritone, bass, and contrabass saxophones; and the E-flat, B-flat, and contrabass clarinets.
Anthony Braxton (born June 4, 1945 in Chicago) is an American composer, saxophonist, clarinettist, flautist, pianist and philosopher. Inspired by John Cage and Karlheinz Stockhausen as much as John Coltrane and Charlie Parker, Anthony Braxton has crafted an immense body of highly complex work. Though Braxton is hardly known to the casual listener he is certainly one of the most prolific American musicians/composers to date, having released well over 100 albums since the 1960s. In 1994 he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship. Braxton plays a multitude of instruments including the flute; the sopranino, soprano, C-Melody, F alto, E-flat alto, baritone, bass, and contrabass saxophones; and the E-flat, B-flat, and contrabass clarinets.
News from the \'70s
This rare collection of recordings from the 1970s features Anthony Braxton at the height of his power and makes an indispensable contribution to his discography. Personally selected by esteemed Italian musicologist Francesco Martinelli from long forgotten cassettes stored in the saxophonist's home, these six tracks were not released commercially until 1999. While the sound quality is mixed, the music is some of Braxton's best. There are two solo performances ("Composition 8G" and "Composition 8C…
23 Standards Quartet
This 4-CD set (4.5 hours of music) was recorded during a series of concerts in 2003 by Antony Braxton's quartet featuring Kevin O'Neil on guitar, Kevin Norton on percussion, Andy Eulau on bass and Anthony Braxton on saxophone. Here they perform standards. Personnel: Anthony Braxton (saxophone); Kevin O'Neil (guitar); Andy Eulau (bass instrument); Kevin Norton (percussion). Recording information: 2003.
Récital Paris 1971
Beautiful solo work from Anthony Braxton -- recorded live in Paris at the start of the 70s, and a fair bit more sensitive than some of his earlier work on that scene! Side one features a beautiful take on Duke Ellington's "Come Sunday" -- one that runs for 25 minutes, and which features Braxton blowing straight, and almost with some of those Lee Konitz-inspired modes he was using around the time. The tune's still got some of the darkness you might expect from Braxton -- but things really go out …
9 Compositions (Iridium) 2006 (12+1tet)
Anthony Braxton's 9 Compositions (Iridium) 2006 is a nine-CD-plus-one-DVD box set documenting what Time Out New York called "last Spring's epochal run" at New York's Iridium Jazz Club with his 12+1tet. Described by Braxton as "THE point of definition in my work thus far," these concerts featured the world premieres of Compositions 350 through 358, the final works in his Ghost Trance Music series, recorded over the course of this rare four-night stand on an American stage. Included with the music…
The Complete Arista Recordings of Anthony Braxton
Here it is, the Mosaic’s awesome Anthony Braxton set, The Complete Arista Recordings, is a long-awaited dream-come-true for fans of the jazz avant-garde. The set’s liner notes were written by musician and scholar Mike Heffley, who gave Mosaic a draft that was twice as long as what they were able to use. Anthony Braxton is the sort of artist who triggers those heated “Is it jazz?” debates; whatever his music is, it is brilliant. By the time he signed with Arista Records in 1974 at the age of 29, …
Composition No. 174
2024 Stock. Minor signs of wear from long-time storage. A new side of ever surprising master composer/musician Anthony Braxton. A world premier performance by the Arizona State University Percussion Ensemble directed by Dr. J. B. Smith. Recorded Feb 6, 1994 in the Music Theatre at the Arizona State University School of Music, Temple, Arizona. The CD is accompanied by an 8-page booklet to lead you throught the labyrinth of Braxton's thinking.
Knitting Factory (Piano/Quartet) 1994, Vol.1
Anthony Braxton plays piano. Two discs, 10 jazz standards, over 75 minutes each disc. (Incidentally this is the first piece by Lennie Tristano on Disc 1). Marty Ehrlich on reeds, Joe Fonda on bass, Pheeroan AkLaff on drums.
Composition N.96
Recorded in 1981 by a 37-piece orchestra & dedicated to the master composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, this album is a key work in Braxton's music's evolution both on the structural & spiritual levels; features extensive notes by Graham Lock.
Quartet (GTM) 2006
Quartet (GTM) 2006 is Anthony Braxton's first release for Important Records. GTM stands for Ghost Trance Music and this four CD box set contains four Ghost Trance compositions recorded in quartet with Anthony Braxton playing reeds, Carl Testa on bass, Aaron Siegal on percussion and Max Heath on piano. This 4CD box also contains a definitive essay by Braxton on his Ghost Trance compositions.
Duo (Wesleyan) 1994
A double CD documenting a complete concert at Wesleyan University in front of an appreciative audience. A 100-minute dialoge between a master percussionist And an amazing saxophonist who plays hos whole arsenal of saxophones And clarinet. Sit And watch how ideas are being born developed And brought to a close just to be started all over again.
2 Compositions (Jarvenpaa) 1988
How will Anthony Braxton be regarded 50 years from now, after the polemicists of today are dead and/or no longer interested, when something like an objective and knowledgeable evaluation of his work becomes possible? For all his undeniable brilliance as a composer, Braxton's seeming indifference toward the craft of composition will undermine his reputation to a significant degree. Which might not be fair, actually. Perhaps Braxton's problem is that he suffers from a condition virtually unprecede…
11 Compositions (Duo) 1995
Here is another example of the remarkable versatility of Anthony Braxton. For this series of nearly eighty minutes of carefully arranged duets, Braxton performs on flute; contra-alto, contrabass, Bb, and soprano clarinets; and sopranino, alto, and F saxophones. Brett Larner joins him on traditional 13-string koto and 17-string bass koto. The combinations of sounds are utterly fascinating; the duo allures with deceptive simplicity. While some of the compositions lean toward familiar abstraction, …