The Sight of Sound

Anthony Braxton Composition Figures

I've been spinning a lot of Anthony Braxton lately.  To me his music is quite physical to the point that it can be visual.  I have a background in art which lends me to be a visual person for the most part.  I originally gravitated to Jazz because it seemed to contain a visual aesthetic to me.  Which makes sense because one of the first Jazz albums I ever listened to was Charles Mingus' The Clown.  It contained "these greens and yellows, and all of these oranges."

It's not just in The Clown, but I have always connected Avant-Garde Jazz with Post War / Post Modern Art.  Conceptually and metaphysically this makes sense.  Musicians like Steve Lacy and Ornette Coleman have always made a big visual presence in my imagination.  Lacy, for example, seems to construct shapes with every lick he plays on the Soprano.  And obviously the name of this blog is derived from Coleman's The Shape of Jazz to Come, but along with musical notes I hear shapes too.  

Can sound be seen?  Can sight be heard?

Here are a few Jazz pieces that create colors, lines, and shapes in my mind.  Some are mathematical and controlled, while some are chaotic and organic.  You can decided for yourself.

Tri-Centric Foundation comes through for a last minute gift idea.

The last two years I created a couple of gift guides for Jazz Geeks like myself (and here).  In anticipation of all the 2012 top of, worst of, best of lists we'll be seeing I decided not to bother.  However, an email in my inbox from Tuesday prompted me to spread the news.

The Tri-Centric Foundation is pivotal in the archiving and releasing of Anthony Braxton material.  For a limited time, members can download a rare solo bootleg entitled, "Solo (Carnegie Hall)1972,"  for free, and non-members can purchase it for a mere $6.99 for a limited time.  It would make an ideal last minute gift for that Avant-Garde fan in your life. So jump on it. 

An example of the recording equipment used.  Photo by Kyoko Kitamura

From Tri-Centric Foundation:

Recorded when Anthony was 27 years old, this bootleg which was discovered earlier this year is the only available audio of the event that we know of...

...We can only offer this recording to you because of your generous support. As manyof you know, TCF was revived in 2009 by a dedicated group of volunteers. We are proud to have accomplished much in three short years but we need your help to keep going. Here is an appeal from the Tri-Centric Foundation president Taylor Ho Bynum. 

I am writing to you in the hope that you share my conviction that the music of Anthony Braxton can have a transformative effect on artists and audiences alike. Personally, Braxton’s artistic innovations have not just changed the way I listen to and make music, but have taught me profound lessons about community, creativity and idealism. If Braxton’s work has been similarly important to you in your life, I ask you to consider donating to the Tri-Centric Foundation.

Best regards, 

TCF Team 

PDX Jazz, 50 Years of Impulse!, ECM On Sale, & What I've Been Listening To

A lot has been going on in Jazz this year, and I'm having a hard time keeping up with it. For starters I just noticed PDX Jazz Founder and Artistic Director Bill Royston has retired. I'm sure the fest will be in good hands with the board and Don Lucoff. I wish Bill the best. I have gotten to see Ornette Coleman, Lou Donaldson, Bobby Hutcherson, Pharoah Sanders, and The Bad Plus thanks to his curating.

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All ECM albums are on sale at Music Millennium:

Please take advantage of this special offer from Music Millennium - and ECM Records of 20% off all ECM titles from now until the end of June.

The first place I worked when I moved to Portland was Music Millennium in NW Portland (up until it closed). I was a floor supervisor and oversaw the Jazz collection. Let me tell you, they have an impeccable collection of ECM titles. Although this sale could be dwindling their stock fast. Music Millennium is in Portland on East Burnside and 32nd Ave. You can also shop online.

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It has been 50 years of enjoying Impulse! Records. Some nice releases are/will be available to commemorate this milestone.

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I've been enjoying a lot of Destination:Out recently. They have been providing some notable articles on Sun Ra and George Lewis (and here).

I haven't had a whole lot of time to get into some new music. I've been listening to a lot of Braxton Montreux/Berlin Concerts, and an extreme amount of Don Cherry. Particularly his Blue Note sessions and the ESP-Disk' Café Montmartre volumes. Which offer beautiful, low produced clones of segments of his suites from those Blue Note recordings.

As far as Braxton, put him with Dave Holland and Barry Altschul, alongside either Kenny Wheeler or George Lewis and my day instantly gets better.

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I just bought an iPad and will be using BlogPress. If you see the below signature attached to any post, it pretty much means I'm trying to justify any typos, weird capitalization, or awkward formatting issues.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

'Quartet (Dortmund) 1976' - Anthony Braxton

Anthony Braxton screams modernity! From the way he titles his works, to his album covers, and through the aesthetic of his sound. Amazingly he has adhered to this image even up until today. One aspect of free jazz that I love is the subtle and subliminal intuitiveness between a group of musicians, and Braxton consistently achieves this with his musicians.

This record is supplied with four compositions buy this stunning quartet. It's insanely well produced and each instrument is mixed amazingly in the channels. George Lewis is heard on trombone in the left channel while Braxton is pertained to the right. To me what makes it brilliant on the ears is the echoing acoustics of Braxton's reeds on the left channel. You hear his notes and riffs mimicking themselves as they bounce around the venue.

Composition 40 F / Composition 23 J is a 26 minute long track that starts off with his whimsical, ambient, and often times almost minimal (comparatively speaking) free form playing before erupting into the more aggressive, straight ahead free jazz style to top the track off -- Is that an oxymoron or what, straight-ahead free jazz? -- I guess what I mean is a sound more stylized like Ornette Coleman; and there is nothing straight-ahead about Ornette.

The rest of the set demonstrates this similar concept. Composition 40 (O) and Composition 6 C are more ambient before the whole set finishes with Composition 40 B. This conclusion is a stellar performance by the whole group creating an incredible peak to the set. [As an added note, I think Dave Holland's best recordings are with Braxton's groups]
1976 - Hat Hut Records.
Anthony Braxton - alto, contrabass & sopranino sax, clarinet, EB & contrabass clarinet; George Lewis - trombone; Dave Holland - bass; Barry Altschul - drums, percussion.