ANTHONY BRAXTON - Trillium J (2016) 4CD | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Trillium J : The Non-Unconfessionables - Composition No. 380    
CD1    Act I    57:45
CD2    Act II    36:51
CD3    Act III    54:04
CD4    Act IV    1:01:38
All Credits

ANTHONY BRAXTON : Composition No. 102 (For Orchestra & Puppet Theatre) (1996) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Perhaps the most restrained piece of music he's ever written, Anthony Braxton's "Composition No. 102" features a 36-piece orchestra and three puppeteers (the puppets they operate are 25 feet tall!). According to the liner notes, Braxton's intention here, besides trying to enter into a world of composition for the whole family, is to augment the listening experience with a visual one of controlled and carefully notated movement, and absorb the listener/viewer in a fantasy world where the bird's-eye view is either from the world of dreams or from the catbird seat on a cloud. Braxton's wild -- and often visionary -- theories are nothing new; his completely impenetrable Tri-Axium Writings are full of the stuff. The trick is that more often than not he actually pulls this stuff off. In the case of "Composition No. 102," he delivers with a score that is rich in tonal color -- the guitar section alone is five pieces -- while being both deceptively repetitive and hypnotically active. Long, slowly evolving phrases are played over and over in section one, the processional, to denote that this is ceremonial or ritual music. It gives way, after transforming itself into another phrase harmonically -- with different instrumental timbres standing in for the original voices, etc. -- before entering into a period of restricted spatial improvisation and contrapuntal discussion. The "First Ceremony," then, is a part of the work where the puppets are going through their solo and interactive engagements and the players are ushering the movement in, while creating a musical tongue that enhances the movement onstage and off. A transition then takes place, melding both consonant and dissonant voices before creating another "ceremony" from the resultant equations of the first. Finally, as dissonance and consonance become assonance, the final fanfare can take place. Brass, reeds, strings, electric guitars, drums, and other instruments wind around the themes Braxton has written to "reclaim" their individual tones, but as one orchestra. If it sounds academic, it is. But that doesn't make it unfeeling or unlistenable -- far from it. This is one of the more outstanding works for large ensemble he's ever written, highlighting the entire panorama of orchestral colors Braxton has always claimed were possible but hadn't displayed yet. A necessity for any listener who's studied Braxton with consistency -- a beguiling mixture of control and fantasy.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
Composition No. 102 (For Orchestra & Puppet Theatre)    
1    Opening Procession    14:22
2    First Ceremony    25:52
3    Transition    6:23
4    Third Ceremony    17:24
5    Closing Fanfare    4:13
Credits :
Alto Saxophone – Allen Livermore, David Kasher, Matthew Lee, Niko Higgins
Alto Saxophone, Clarinet – Jackson Moore
Bass – Dirck Westervelt, Michael Lenore
Cello – Anil Seth, Vivian Lee
Composed By, Conductor, Liner Notes – Anthony Braxton
Cornet – Daniel Young
Euphonium [Double Belled Euphonium] – Stewart Gillmor
Flugelhorn – Taylor Ho Bynum
Flute – April Monroe, Christine Whitledge
Guitar – Dan Gilbert, Edmond Cho, Kevin O'Neil, Nathaniel Delafield, Thom Loubet
Keyboards – Robert Weythman
Koto [13 String Koto] – Brett Larner
Melodica – Sung Kim
Oboe – Raphael Cohen
Orchestra – The Wesleyan Creative Orchestra
Other [Puppeteer No-1] – Joshua Shimkin
Other [Puppeteer No-2] – Owen Benediktsson
Other [Puppeteer No-3] – Demian Mason
Percussion – Josh Rosenblatt, Rene Muslin
Piano – Eric Ronick, Kevin Uehinger, Michael Buescher, Michael Thompson, Ronaldo Garces
Soprano Vocals – Dorene Zjawinski
Trombone – John Speck
Trumpet – Sam Hoyt, Steve Laronga, Zach See
Violin – Nickie Braxton

ANTHONY BRAXTON - Four Compositions (Quartet) 1995 (1997) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

In his liner notes to this disc, Bill Shoemaker relates that the members of Braxton's group for this date had spent a good deal of time studying his "book," expecting various past compositions and sound territories to be explored for this recording date. When they arrived for the session, however, they were met not only by new Braxton pieces, but by an entirely new approach on the part of the composer: the inauguration of what would come to be known as his Ghost Trance Music. Generally, this sub-genre is characterized by a repeated unison melodic line played in evenly stressed eighth notes which wanders somewhat willy-nilly across the scale but is held by at least two of the instrumentalists at any given time throughout the piece. Soloists, to the extent they may be considered as such, offer embroideries on this central stalk only to return to the pattern after a time, allowing others to spin their own elaboration. If it is reminiscent of anything in Braxton's prior output, it might be said to bear some similarity to his Kelvin series compositions from the early '70s. For all its surface simplicity, there's a good deal of complex interaction taking place. As this was the first exposure for these musicians to this new conception, it's not surprising that they play with a bit of hesitancy during sections of this album. Subsequent recordings would offer meatier readings of this aspect of Braxton's work (notably Composition 193 for Tentet), but it's certainly fascinating to witness its genesis here. The colors utilized (especially with Norton dwelling for extended periods on various metallophones) serve to create a bright and playful atmosphere, a welcome approach to music that had the potential to sound a little dry and academic. It is refreshing to see that Braxton's music, always very demanding of its listeners, remained so well into the '90s. Brian Olewnick  
Tracklist :
1    Composition No. 182    12:17
2    Composition No. 183    9:51
3    Composition No. 184    19:51
4    Composition No. 181    16:03
Credits :
Accordion – Ted Reichman
Alto Saxophone, Sopranino Saxophone [E-Flat Sopranino Saxophone], Soprano Clarinet [B-Flat Clarinet], Composed By – Anthony Braxton
Bass – Joe Fonda
Drums, Vibraphone, Glockenspiel, Percussion – Kevin Norton

ANTHONY BRAXTON - Octet (New York) 1995 (1997) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This octet documentation of Anthony Braxton's "Composition 188" is solid evidence of the state of the decline of the recording industry's ability to nurture an artist -- even one of Braxton's stature -- and see to much less beyond the bottom line in order to fulfill their function as documenters of cultural history. They may claim no responsibility, but they're wrong. This disc is angering, and it's not for the quality of the written music or even Braxton's performance, which is, as usual, excellent. It's the fact that he had to record it himself with a group of players who, despite their individual qualities, were not up to the task of performing with any kind of inspiration on work as wondrous and difficult as this. Braxton is clearly working with his students here, and it shows in the recorded result. The muddy mix, the shoddy spatial relationships between instruments, and the evident rigorous effort put in on the part of a group whose entire collective effort, while admirable, is not equal to the challenges of "Composition 188," nearly an hour long and full of knotty harmonic ideas and strange cascading repetitive note patterns that shift from front to back and then side to side in oddly delineated intervals of tonal ebullience. But what was Braxton supposed to do? Not document it in performance? A label would have allowed Braxton to hire -- rather than ask their favor -- a group of handpicked musicians for this particular work and have given them the money and the time to rehearse it adequately before recording it. That used to happen.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
Tracklist :
1     Compostition No. 188 58:06
Credits :
Accordion – Ted Reichman
Baritone Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone [B-Flat Soprano Saxophone], Tenor Saxophone, Flute [Hungarian Shepherd Flute] – Andre Vida
Bass – Joe Fonda
Drums, Vibraphone, Glockenspiel, Percussion – Kevin Norton
Electric Violin – Jason Kao Hwang
Sopranino Saxophone [E-Flat Sopranino Saxophone], Alto Saxophone, Flute, Clarinet [E-Flat Sopranino Clarinet], Clarinet [B-Flat Clarinet], Contrabass Clarinet, Saxophone [F-Saxophone], Composed By – Anthony Braxton
Soprano Saxophone [C-Soprano Saxophone], Tenor Saxophone, Bass Clarinet, Flute, Flute [Wooden Flute] – Brandon Evans
Tenor Trombone, Trombone [Alto Trombone] – Roland Dahinden

ANTHONY BRAXTON - Tentet (New York) 1996 (1996) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Tracklist :
1    Composition No. 193    1:07:11
Anthony Braxton    
Credits :
Accordion – Ted Reichman
Alto Clarinet, Piccolo Flute – J.D. Parran
Alto Saxophone, Sopranino Saxophone [E-flat], Saxophone [F-], Clarinet [E-flat Sopranino, B-flat], Contrabass Clarinet, Flute, Composed By, Producer – Anthony Braxton
Bass – Joe Fonda
Drums, Vibraphone, Glockenspiel, Percussion – Kevin Norton
Soprano Saxophone [B-flat], Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone – Andre Vida
Soprano Saxophone [C-], Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Bass Clarinet, Flute – Brandon Evans
Trombone [Tenor, Alto] – Roland Dahinden
Violin – Gwen Laster, Jacquie Carrasco

ANTHONY BRAXTON - Sextet (Istanbul) 1996 (1996) 2CD | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Of the Braxton House recordings, the Sextet (Istanbul, 1996) issue is the best of the instrumental recordings released by the label. Recorded at the Akbank Jazz Festival in October of 1995, the sextet Braxton employs to perform the first compositions in his Ghost Trance Musics series is made of veteran improvisers rather than students: Braxton plays all of his usual instruments, while Roland Dahinden plays tenor and alto trombones, Jason Hwang appears on violin, Ted Reichman on accordion, Joe Fonda on bass, and Kevin Norton holds down an entire percussion section, including marimbas, glockenspiels, a drum kit, vibraphone, and other assorted instruments. The Ghost Trance Musics make up roughly Compositions 185-195 in Braxton's oeuvre thus far. Here "Composition 185" and "Composition 186" are performed in their entirety without any of the side-walling or mainstays from the middles of other compositions skating their way into the mix. Essentially, both compositions are engaged thoroughly with theme and variation. Ostinato is the heartbeat, the pulse of each of the works. The improvisational sections take place in the middle of these scalar thematics, which are designed in multiples of three-instruments, measures, bars, melodies, etc. Braxton seems to be going after something he can't quite nail down here, and the band knows it. This is when he's at his best, when in pursuit of an ethereal something that gives him glimpses of an ideal but then slips away like mercury under the thumb. Here tonal studies match contrapuntal ones; timbral intrigues are given host to melodic threads and augmented harmonic passageways into the maze. Make no mistake, this ensemble isn't nearly as capable of careening through Braxton's music as the classic quartet was, but they don't have to be because this music is far more structured and doesn't lend itself as much to individual improvisational voice or to fiery pyrotechnics. Instead the sextet is a unit that relies of nuance and the trace elements in the composition that lend themselves to acts of surprise and spontaneity.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
Tracklist :
1-1    Composition No. 185    38:31
1-2    Composition No. 186    19:09
2-1    Composition No. 186 (Continued)    40:19
Credits :
Accordion – Ted Reichman
Alto Saxophone, Sopranino Saxophone [E-flat], Clarinet, Contrabass Clarinet, Flute, Composed By [All Compositions By] – Anthony Braxton
Bass – Joe Fonda
Drums, Vibraphone, Glockenspiel, Marimba, Percussion – Kevin Norton
Tenor Trombone, Trombone [Alto Trombone] – Roland Dahinden

ANTHONY BRAXTON - Trillium R : Composition 162 - An Opera in Four Acts / Shala Fears for the Poor (1999) 4CD | FLAC (tracks), lossless

So why is this so important? How can a guy like Braxton, who writes constantly, get a high mark on his first outing? Simple -- with the exception of Anthony Davis, who wrote Malcolm X, no one from the jazz side of the fence has attempted such a complete attempt to embrace the world of Western classical music so thoroughly. (Yes, forget Blood on the Fields, it's a jazz oratorio according to its composer.) And it deems that Braxton is the only one who can be counted -- if this opera, the first of 36 by the year 2020 if the composer lives that long and lives up to his word (is there any doubt?), is any example -- to have his work be worthy of comparison to the works of Webern, Berg, and Schoenberg, not to mention Morton Feldman and John Cage. Compared to his jazz work, Composition No. 162 -- An Opera in Four Acts/Shala Fears for the Poor (dedicated to Nelson Mandela) is far from dense compared to his jazz quartet, quintet, and orchestra work. The opera is performed by nine singers and a full symphony orchestra who has among its membership instrumental soloists like clarinetist Chris Speed, flutists Ned Rothenberg and Rob Brown, and violinist Sara Parkins. All of the operas in the Trillium series will have three primary levels spread throughout their acts and scenes: an "apparent story," which is a narrative that can be appreciated more or less for what it seems to say; a set of "philosophical associations" that make the work refer outside itself into the world of ideas; and finally, "the mystical or spiritual fundamental that underlines each setting," in other words, an allegory -- noh or kabuki theater anyone? The narrative in Shala is a long, drawn-out, rhetorical narrative involving the marketing of products and productions to the masses, specifically to the lower classes. These products are everything from food to loans, all of them created to extract a maximum of profit regardless of damage. Certainly there is a preaching to the converted here, with a plot as concerned with the obvious as the face of our culture. But Braxton -- through his use of color, shape, texture, and above all intersecting musical and dramatic dynamics -- cuts through and makes his dialogue enter into the imagination, where the listener extrapolates her or his own experience and places it firmly in the operatic sequence of events. The smarminess of the Board of Directors and the under-sung plaintive wail of Shala are downright moving. The interplay of the strings with the solo voices and horns and percussion creating mysterious shapes underneath, filling out scenarios and sub-plots, is masterful. Yes, it does seem as if there is a bit of the overly dramatic "snidely whiplash" in all of this, but isn't it that cynical anyway? That Braxton can overcome his temptation to preach at all is compelling (remember Schöenberg's similar taste of pulpit-climbing sin in Moses and Aaron?), as is his ability to lay everything at the altar of image (as his musicians paint them in the air next to the singers) in elongated modes of introverted harmonics and striated tonal linguistics. And after all, like all of Braxton's music, this opera, Shala Fears for the Poor, is about language and how it mediates and transcends images. Braxton is trying to transcend the language of the opera while using it for his own purposes. If this is where the future of opera is headed, if this is where it's language will ultimately be decided, then someone please give me a grammar book -- I'm in.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
Trillium R: Shala Fears For The Poor - Composition No. 162 (Opera In Four Acts)   
1-1    Act 1    1:03:05
2-1    Act 2    31:32
3-1    Act 3    39:20
4-1    Act 4    42:06
All Credits