ANTHONY BRAXTON - Performance (Quartet) 1979 (2007) FLAC (tracks), lossless

This two-Lp set has a continuous 71-minute performance by Anthony Braxton's 1979 quartet, a unit that features the leader on alto, clarinets and contrabass clarinet along with the masterful (and sometimes hilarious) trombonist Ray Anderson, bassist John Lindberg and percussionist Thurman Barker. The group interprets seven of Braxton's compositions (which he outlines in extensive and generally readable liner notes) including a closing and somewhat humorous march. Since the Braxton-Anderson musical partnership did not last all that long and resulted in some real fireworks, this twofer is one that Braxton's fans will want to search for. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1    Part I    36:48
2    Part II    34:26
Credits :
Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Saxophone [B & E], Clarinet, Bass Clarinet – Anthony Braxton
Double Bass – John Lindberg
Percussion, Xylophone, Gong – Thurman Barker
Trombone, Trombone [Alto], Instruments [Little] – Ray Anderson

ANTHONY BRAXTON — Creative Orchestra (Köln) 1978 (2CD 2009) + Creative Orchestra (Guelph) 2007 (2008) Serie Line – LINE 30 | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This expansive two-LP set captures an entire, nearly two-hour live set by Anthony Braxton's Creative Orchestra recorded in Koln, Germany, in 1978. Braxton, like most members of the AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, a loose Chicago-based collective that also included the Art Ensemble of Chicago and others), normally performed in small groups, from duos to quartets. Braxton's Creative Orchestra -- in which the saxophonist does not play, but merely conducts his own compositions -- is a 20-member exception to this rule. Many of Braxton's compositions explore near-silence in ways similar to John Cage, but this group is nothing if not loud.

Thanks to Braxton's skill as a composer, the results never devolve into mere cacophony, even in those passages where all 20 members -- including an accordionist and a synthesizer player -- are playing at once, as in the opening "Language Improvisations." This is a powerful document of a little-appreciated side of Anthony Braxton's work. Rovi Staff  
Tracklist :
1-1    Language Improvisations    14:34
1-2    Composition 55    12:27
1-3    Composition 45    25:21
2-1    Composition 59    21:45
2-2    Composition 51    17:19
2-3    Composition 58    12:56
Credits :
Accordion – Birgit Taubhorn
Bass – Brian Smith, John Lindberg
Conductor, Composed By – Anthony Braxton
Electric Guitar – James Emery
Percussion, Marimba – Thurman Barker
Piano – Marilyn Crispell
Saxophone [Saxophones], Clarinet [Clarinets], Flute [Flutes], Piccolo Flute [Piccolo], Nadaswaram [Nagaswaram], Ocarina – Dwight Andrews, J.D.Parran, Marty Ehrlich, Ned Rothenberg, Vinny Golia
Synthesizer – Robert Ostertag
Trombone, Tuba – George Lewis, James King Roosa, Ray Anderson
Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Kenny Wheeler, Michael Mossman, Rob Howard, Leo Smith
Vibraphone – Bobby Naughton

Tracklist :
1    Language Improvision    5:02
2    Composition 306    7:04
3    Language Improvision    15:09
4    Composition 307 / Language Improvisation    25:36
5    Composition 91    9:00
Credits :
Alto Saxophone – Evan Shaw
Bass – Rob Clutton, Victor Bateman
Cello – Tilman Lewis
Clarinet [Eb Clarinet], Bass Clarinet – Ronda Rindone
Conductor, Soprano Saxophone, Composed By – Anthony Braxton
Drums – Joe Sorbara, Nick Fraser
Flute – Rob Piilonen
Guitar – Ken Aldcroft
Guitar, Harmonica – Justin Haynes
Piano – Tania Gill
Soprano Saxophone – Kyle Brenders
Tenor Saxophone – Colin Fisher
Trombone – Scott Thomson
Trumpet – Nicole Rampersaud
Violin – Parmela Attariwala
Voice – Christine Duncan
Xylophone – Brandon Valdivia

ANTHONY BRAXTON ft. JOHN LINDENBERG - Six Duets (1982) (1997) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Tracklist :
1    Composition No 69B 5:14
Composed By – Anthony Braxton
2    Composition No 69A 8:19
Composed By – Anthony Braxton
3    Composition No 23J 7:11
Composed By – Anthony Braxton
4    Composition No 6A 6:36
Composed By – Anthony Braxton
5    Composition No 69P 3:45
Composed By – Anthony Braxton
6    Composition No 6N 7:16
Composed By – Anthony Braxton
- BONUS TRACKS -
7    Four - Take 1 5:55
Composed By – Miles Davis
8    Four - Take 2 3:01
Composed By – Miles Davis
Credits :
Alto Saxophone, Sopranino Saxophone [E-flat], Clarinet – Anthony Braxton
Bass – John Lindberg

ANTHONY BRAXTON - Four Compositions (Quartet) 1983 (1983) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Before getting to the music of this Anthony Braxton recording, the listener is confronted with a highly calculated methodology. The album bears the stark title Four Compositions (Quartet) 1983, and each song (itself merely a cataloged number) is accompanied by its own highly cryptic diagram. This sets up a struggle, whereby musical/emotional ends must be achieved through Braxton's analytical compositional means. For this 1983 session, Braxton selected materials from his collection of notebooks to provide the focus for quartet improvisations. The resulting performances lack a sense of continuity. Composed themes are tight, awkward structures delivered by the hornmen with mechanical precision. The improvised sections that follow bear little resemblance (in structure or mood) to any point of origin, rendering irrelevant the themes themselves. What saves Four Compositions is that the musicians are willing to see the composer's ideas through, employing every facility. Braxton gives everyone a great deal of freedom and space. John Lindberg lays down a wonderful bass solo on "Composition No. 69 M," speaking in tongues with clustered, rumbling notes. Elsewhere he adds undercurrents of throbbing, bowed tones. George Lewis has an equally strong grasp of the trombone's possibilities. On the vibrant theme to "No. 69 M," he holds the rhythmic pulses from which Braxton springs forth. Elsewhere, he disguises the horn's recognizable characteristics, opting for sheer sound. Avoiding scattered flurries of free rhythm, Gerry Hemingway dictates with spacious, careful percussion. On "Composition No. 69 Q," he even hints at a stiff, snare-led swing. Among these musicians, Braxton is an equal, stretching from vivid, Middle Eastern-flavored clarinet lines on "No. 69 M" to grittier tenor on "No. 69 Q." According to Braxton, the goal of Four Compositions was to select materials that would comprise a "creative and diversified" album. Yet while the musicians do seem largely free and highly expressive, the Four Compositions themselves feel unbalanced and oddly subdued. Maybe the composer's forethought established too much structure. It seems like there is always a set of imposed elements holding them back. Nathan Bush  
Tracklist :
1    Composition No. 105 A    19:58
2    Composition No. 69 M    7:14
3    Composition No. 69 O    8:45
4    Composition No. 69 Q    5:29
Credits :
Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Clarinet, Liner Notes – Anthony Braxton
Bass – John Lindberg
Percussion – Gerry Hemingway
Trombone – George Lewis

ANTHONY BRAXTON - Prag 1984 (Quartet Performance) (1990) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Tracklist :
1    Announcement    0:52
2    Composition 105A / Composition 110A / Composition 114 / Composition 69H    59:07
Credits :
Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, C Melody Saxophone, Clarinet, Flute – Anthony Braxton
Bass – John Lindberg
Drums – Gerry Hemingway
Piano – Marilyn Crispell

ANTHONY BRAXTON - Performance (Quartet) 1979 (2007) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Tracklist :
1    Part I 36:47
2    Part II 34:26
Credits :
Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone [B♭ And E♭], Clarinet, Contrabass Clarinet, Arranged By – Anthony Braxton
Bass – John Lindberg
Percussion, Xylophone, Gong [Gongs] – Thurman Barker
Trombone, Trombone [Alto], Instruments [Little] – Ray Anderson