ANTHONY BRAXTON — Ensemble (Victoriaville) 1988 (1992) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Recorded live at the Festival Musique de Actuel in Quebec, Anthony Braxton's Victoriaville 1988 features a star-studded, avant-garde jazz ensemble, including tenor saxophonist Evan Parker, trombonist George Lewis, trumpeter Paul Smoker, drummer Gerry Hemingway, vibraphonist Bobby Naughton, and bassist Joëlle Léandre. Braxton's lengthy "Composition No. 141 (+20+96+120D)" opens the set in Schoenbergian fashion, sporting knotty, expressionistic arrangements and plenty of inspired unison and solo improvisation for balance; in spite of its sprawling structure, the solid and empathetic rhythm section keeps the piece running smoothly. The other ensemble members make quality contributions as well, with Smoker's humorous, muted trumpet work and Lewis' fervid trombone solos standing out in particular. The shorter "Composition No. 142" closes the performance with an intriguing mix of frenetic and languid group improvisation. A top-notch Braxton release. Stephen Cook
Tracklist :
1    Composition No 141 (+20 +96 +120D)    40:41
2    Composition No 142    8:22
Credits :
Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Sopranino Saxophone, Illustration [Drawings] – Anthony Braxton
Contrabass – Joelle Léandre
Percussion, Drums – Gerry Hemingway
Tenor Saxophone – Evan Parker
Trombone – George Lewis
Trumpet – Paul Smoker
Vibraphone – Bobby Naughton

ANTHONY BRAXTON - Anthony Braxton's Charlie Parker Project (1995) 2CD | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

On this double CD the innovative altoist Anthony Braxton (who also plays a bit of his sopranino and the remarkable contrabass clarinet) interprets 13 bebop songs (two taken twice), 11 of which were composed by Charlie Parker. However, do not mistake these performances (which are comprised of both a studio session and a club set) with the type of music often played by the Young Lions. In fact, those listeners who consider themselves bop purists are advised to look elsewhere. Performing with an adventurous sextet that also includes Ari Brown on tenor and soprano, trumpeter Paul Smoker, pianist Misha Mengelberg (the most consistently impressive of the supporting cast), bassist Joe Fonda, and either Han Bennink or Pheeroan AkLaff on drums, Braxton uses the melodies and some of the original structures of such tunes as "Hot House," "Night in Tunisia," "Bebop," and "Ko Ko" as the basis for colorful and often-stunning improvisations. He does not feel restricted to the old boundaries of the 1940s and '50s, preferring to pay tribute to the spirit and chance-taking of Charlie Parker rather than to merely recreate the past. The passionate and unpredictable results are quite stimulating and full of surprises, fresh ideas and wit. It's highly recommen Scott Yanow  
Tracklist :
1-1    Hot House 15:06
Composed By – Tadd Dameron
1-2    A Night In Tunisia 9:03
Composed By – Dizzy Gillespie
1-3    Dewey Square    12:28
1-4    Klactoveesedstene    8:46
1-5    An Oscar For Treadwell    19:38
2-1    Bebop 8:22
Composed By – Dizzy Gillespie
2-2    Bongo Bop    6:45
2-3    Yardbird Suite    8:14
2-4    A Night In Tunisia 8:28
Composed By – Dizzy Gillespie
2-5    Passport    6:30
2-6    Klactoveesedstene    7:07
2-7    Scrapple From The Apple    5:15
2-8    Mohawk    2:45
2-9    Slippin' At Bells    4:08
2-10    Koko    7:36
Credits :
Alto Saxophone, Sopranino Saxophone, Contrabass Clarinet – Anthony Braxton
Composed By – Charlie Parker
Double Bass – Joe Fonda
Drums – Han Bennink (pistas: 1-1 to 1-5), Pheeroan AkLaff (pistas: 2-1 to 2-10)
Piano – Misha Mengelberg
Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Ari Brown
Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Paul Smoker

ANTHONY BRAXTON - Nine Compositions (Hill) 2000 (2001) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This 2001 release represents the second and final segment in a set of multi-reedman/composer Anthony Braxton's interpretations of the music of pianist/composer Andrew Hill. On this outing, the estimable artist surges forward with mainstream-like accessibility, especially when viewing his rather massive recorded legacy as a whole. Here, Braxton eschews his avant-garde tendencies, although the quintet occasionally delves into the free jazz scheme of things. The quintet pays dutiful homage to a portion of Hill's works via a series of moderate swing vamps and jazz waltz-style passages. Alto saxophonist Steve Lehman chips in on several tracks, while trumpeter Paul Smoker and guitarist Kevin O'Neil receive generous soloing opportunities. However, it's Braxton's fluttering attack and upbeat ruminations that propel the band into a surfeit of variegated excursions, as the soloists jab and spar or render their wares in sequential fashion. Ultimately, the musicians are most effective at reworking and, in some instances, decoding Hill's melodies with multidimensional frameworks and in-the-pocket grooves. Recommended. Glenn Astarita  
Tracklist :
1    New Monastery    5:52
2    Pinnacle    8:49
3    Dedication    4:34
4    Euterpe    7:28
5    Tail Feather    4:43
6    Calliope    7:31
7    Pax    5:24
8    Symmetry    9:22
9    Refuge    6:55
Credits :
Alto Saxophone – Steve Lehman (pistas: 1 to 3, 5, 8, 9)
Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Anthony Braxton
Composed By – Andrew Hill
Double Bass – Andy Eulau
Drums – Kevin Norton
Guitar – Kevin O'Neil
Trumpet – Paul Smoker (pistas: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9)

ANTHONY BRAXTON - Sextet (Parker) 1993 (2018) 11CD BOX-SET | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

"I think he exemplifies the spirit Charlie Parker had - the fact that he dares to do something different, to try another direction." (Max Roach discussing Anthony Braxton)

On March 2nd, 2018, the Tri-Centric Foundation and New Braxton House Records will release Anthony Braxton's "Sextet (Parker) 1993" - an epic 11-CD deluxe box set meticulously documenting Braxton's now legendary European tour performing music composed by and associated with Charlie Parker. As Stuart Broomer writes in his extensive liner essay, "we've come across a signal here in which two of the greatest minds of African-American music have somehow crossed their signals, crossed and combined, fused, modulated, and combined with others."

Widely revered as one of the most original composers and conceptualists of the past fifty years, Anthony Braxton has also pursued his own idiosyncratic path through the jazz repertoire throughout his career - from his 1974 recording "What's New in the Tradition" to his seven-album tribute to Lennie Tristano, "Quintet (Tristano) 2014". This Charlie Parker project stands as the centerpiece of that journey, a body of music that simultaneously acknowledges, expands, and explodes the bebop tradition, re-radicalizing Parker's musical revolution.

As Braxton approaches his 75th birthday (arriving in 2020), and increasingly his own compositions became favored repertoire of emerging musicians from both the jazz and new music communities the world over, it is fascinating to see his in-depth examination of another artist's oeuvre. This recording offers insight on both Braxton and Parker - demonstrating the clear roots of a still-searching experimentalist, and reminding the listener of the joyful liberation inherent in Parker's genius.

Braxton is joined by an extraordinary band well-versed in both the jazz tradition and creative music practice: pioneering Dutch pianist Misha Mengelberg, the undersung trumpet master Paul Smoker, Chicago tenor sax stalwart Ari Brown, the rock-solid bassist Joe Fonda, and the volcanic drummer Pheeroan akLaff. (Another Dutch jazz innovator, drummer Han Bennink, substitutes for akLaff on one disc). Representing multiple communities, styles, and generations, the interplay between the performers is sublime. Each musician is pushed to the height of their skills and rises to the challenge in this one-time only meeting - never again would this group assemble. (With the recent passing of Smoker and Mengelberg, the set also serves as a worthy tribute to their brilliance.)

Near the 25th anniversary of the original recordings, this reissue massively expands upon the original two-disc set released in 1995 by Hathut Records under the title "Anthony Braxton's Charlie Parker Project 1993." The deluxe 11-CD box set, with a 26-page booklet including Broomer's insightful essay and rare historical photographs, will be solely available in a limited-edition run of 500 copies. (The music will also be available for streaming or digital download via Bandcamp.) As Broomer writes, "The music satisfies a special need, engendered by jazz as history and idea, for simultaneous movements in time, both forwards and back, these ecstatic arcs in time that link these musicians and this art in a thousand ways, the ways in which this music never sounds contrived, the way it shares with us its own expansive space." https://newbraxtonhouse.bandcamp.com
Tracklist :
1-1    Confirmation 10:27
Composed By – Charlie Parker
1-2    Quasimodo 10:33
Composed By – Charlie Parker
1-3    Don't Blame Me 12:05
Composed By – Jimmy McHugh/Dorothy Fields
1-4    Repetition 5:06
Composed By – Neal Hefti
1-5    Klactoveedsedstene 6:44
Composed By – Charlie Parker
1-6    Relaxin' At Camarillo 15:39
Composed By – Charlie Parker
2-1    Darn That Dream 11:49
Composed By – Eddie Delange, Jimmy Van Heusen
2-2    Hot House 14:06
Composed By – Tadd Dameron
2-3    Laura 8:43
Composed By – David Raskin, Johnny Mercer
2-4    Scrapple From The Apple 5:18
Composed By – Charlie Parker
2-5    Bebop 17:06
Composed By – Dizzy Gillespie
2-6    Charlie's Wig 6:51
Composed By – Charlie Parker
2-7    Klactoveedsedstene 6:49
Composed By – Charlie Parker
3-1    Autumn In New York 9:10
Composed By – Vernon Duke
3-2    Parker Melodies 34:47
Composed By – Charlie Parker
3-3    Yardbird Suite 9:25
Composed By – Charlie Parker
3-4    Ari/Mischa Duo 1:48
Composed By – Charlie Parker
3-5    Charlie's Wig 6:36
Composed By – Charlie Parker
3-6    Klactoveedsedstene 6:51
Composed By – Charlie Parker
4-1    A Night In Tunisia 8:30
Composed By – Dizzy Gillespie
4-2    Another Hair-Do 10:37
Composed By – Charlie Parker
4-3    Sippin' At Bell's 4:10
Composed By – Miles Davis
4-4    An Oscar For Treadwell 9:00
Composed By – Charlie Parker
4-5    Bongo Bop 7:14
Composed By – Charlie Parker
4-6    Blues For Alice 11:13
Composed By – Charlie Parker
5-1    Dewey Square 15:33
Composed By – Charlie Parker
5-2    Mohawk 3:34
Composed By – Charlie Parker
5-3    Repetition 4:17
Composed By – Neal Hefti
5-4    An Oscar For Treadwell 7:56
Composed By – Charlie Parker
5-5    A Night In Tunisia 6:23
Composed By – Charlie Parker
5-6    Quasimodo 10:01
Composed By – Charlie Parker
5-7    Cardboard 8:16
Composed By – Charlie Parker
5-8    Koko 7:30
Composed By – Charlie Parker
6-1    Milestones 7:47
Composed By – John Lewis
6-2    Hot House 12:52
Composed By – Tadd Dameron
6-3    Klactoveedsedstene 7:07
Composed By – Charlie Parker
6-4    Yardbird Suite 8:10
Composed By – Charlie Parker
6-5    Passport 6:20
Composed By – Charlie Parker
6-6    Repetition 4:20
Composed By – Neal Hefti
6-7    A Night In Tunisia 6:22
Composed By – Dizzy Gillespie
7-1    Hot House 15:51
Composed By – Tadd Dameron
7-2    A Night In Tunisia 8:59
Composed By – Dizzy Gillespie
7-3    An Oscar For Treadwell 19:22
Composed By – Charlie Parker
7-4    Dewey Square 12:25
Composed By – Charlie Parker
7-5    Repetition 5:11
Composed By – Neal Hefti
7-6    Klactoveedsedstene 10:49
Composed By – Charlie Parker
8-1    Hot House 15:18
Composed By – Tadd Dameron
8-2    Another Hair-Do 16:26
Composed By – Charlie Parker
8-3    April In Paris 4:59
Composed By – E.Y. Harburg, Vernon Duke
8-4    An Oscar For Treadwell 28:32
Composed By – Charlie Parker
9-1    Repetition 5:12
Composed By – Neal Hefti
9-2    Don't Blame Me 10:37
Composed By – Jimmy McHugh/Dorothy Fields
9-3    Confirmation 13:03
Composed By – Charlie Parker
9-4    A Night In Tunisia 11:41
Composed By – Dizzy Gillespie
9-5    Dewey Square 14:52
Composed By – Charlie Parker
9-6    Klactoveedsedstene 5:34
Composed By – Charlie Parker
10-1    Darn That Dream 12:05
Composed By – Eddie Delange, Jimmy Van Heusen
10-2    Autumn In New York 7:56
Composed By – Vernon Duke
10-3    Sippin' At Bell's 5:35
Composed By – Miles Davis
10-4    Bebop 8:25
Composed By – Dizzy Gillespie
10-5    Another Hair-Do 10:32
Composed By – Charlie Parker
10-6    Koko 7:13
Composed By – Charlie Parker
11-1    Repetition 5:03
Composed By – Neal Hefti
11-2    Cardboard 10:10
Composed By – Charlie Parker
11-3    Blues For Alice 10:34
Composed By – Charlie Parker
11-4    Confirmation 10:12
Composed By – Charlie Parker
11-5    Don't Blame Me 13:05
Composed By – Jimmy McHugh/Dorothy Fields
11-6    Cheryl 9:39
Composed By – Charlie Parker
Credits :
Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Anthony Braxton (pistas: 1-1 to 2-7, 3-2, 3-5 to 11-6)
Bass – Joe Fonda (pistas: 1-1 to 3-3, 3-5 to 4-4, 4-6 to 8-2, 8-4 to 11-6)
Contrabass Clarinet – Anthony Braxton (pistas: 2-4)
Drums – Han Bennink (pistas: 7-1 to 7-6), Pheeroan akLaff (pistas: 1-1 to 2-3, 2-5 to 2-7, 3-2, 3-4 to 4-2, 4-4, 4-6, 5-1, 5-3 to 6-3, 6-6, 6-7, 8-1, 8-2, 8-4 to 10-1, 10-4 to 11-6)
Flute – Anthony Braxton (pistas: 5-2, 5-7)
Piano – Anthony Braxton (pistas: 3-1, 3-3, 6-1, 6-4), Misha Mengelberg (pistas: 1-1 to 3-1, 3-4 to 4-2, 4-4 to 5-7, 6-2, 6-3, 6-5 to 10-1, 10-4 to 11-6)
Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Ari Brown (pistas: 1-4 to 2-2, 2-5 to 2-7, 3-2 to 3-4, 3-6, 4-1, 4-4 to 4-6, 5-3 to 5-5, 6-1, 6-3, 6-4. 6-6, 6-7, 7-2, 7-3, 7-5, 7-6, 8-4, 9-1, 9-4, 9-6, 10-1, 10-4, 11-1, 11-3)
Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Paul Smoker (pistas: 1-1 to 1-6, 2-2, 2-5 to 2-7, 3-2 to 4-4, 4-6 to 5-6, 5-8 to 6-4, 6-6 to 7-3, 7-5 to 8-2, 8-4 to 9-4, 9-6, 10-3 to 11-1, 11-3 to 11-6)