ANTHONY BRAXTON - Six Compositions (Ghost Trance Music) 2001 (2004) 4CD | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Recorded about six years after his first ventures into ghost trance music, this sprawling, four-disc set shows significant advances in Braxton's conception of this territory, although it, in general, lacks some of the ecstatic quality of the earlier releases on Braxton House. While the general notion of a consistent pulse that defines ghostly trance music is present, the tempi are for the most part rather slow and march-like. This imparts something of a plodding quality to several of the works, acting against the nervous and pleasurable giddiness one derived from the prior albums. The pieces are arranged for a variety of ensembles, the number of members gradually decreasing from ten to two over the course of the set. In the 90-plus minute "Composition 286," the tentet allows Braxton to use the collage strategy he developed in the '80s with his classic quartet, that of interpolating earlier compositions into a performance. There's a lovely moment late in the piece where "Composition 23A," the gorgeous final track from his New York, Fall 1974 release, emerges from the dense ensemble work that's worth the price of the album. There is a certain looseness (or expansiveness) to the work that, oddly enough, ends up sounding very similar to some Sun Ra sides from the '60s. The remaining five compositions are scored for groups ranging from quintet to duo and what they lose in richness (not much, actually), they make up for in clarity of form. Here the individual contributions come to the fore and there's particularly exciting work from percussionist Gino Robair and guitarist John Shiurba. The latter, along with trumpeter Greg Kelley on the first track, provides fresh doses of non-idiomatic, free improvisation on the proceedings, an element that fits in beautifully with Braxton's larger conception but had previously been surprisingly under-represented. The pieces are considerably varied, even within the strict forms that Braxton has laid out as parameters; a standout is the extremely long and sinuous theme from "Composition 287" that winds its way through the space, probing odd nooks and crannies for the instrumentalists to explore at their leisure later on. The concluding duet (dedicated to Don Van Vliet) between Braxton and Shiurba is a marvel of intricacy, the composed lines intertwining delicately around each other, the improvised portions spinning off the central stems like curling tendrils. Six Compositions [GTM] 2001 is music of depth and imagination and showed that Braxton was still capable of discovering new and exciting territory more than three decades into his career. A must-have for his fans. Brian Olewnick  
Tracklist :
Composition No. 286 (+ 147, 20, 69D, 256, 173, 6J, 162, 23A)   
1-1    Part 1    24:02
1-2    Part 2    16:03
2-1    Part 3    32:30
2-2    Part 4    19:31
3-1    Composition No. 277 (+ 40L) 33:01
Contrabass – Matthew Sperry
Drums, Marimba, Vibraphone, Percussion, Percussion [Bowed Metals], Piano, Synthesizer, Electronics – Gino Robair
Guitar – John Shiurba
Sopranino Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone [F], Alto Saxophone [Eb], Baritone Saxophone, Clarinet [Eb Soprano, Bb, Contrabass] – Anthony Braxton
Sopranino Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone, Contrabass Clarinet, Flute – Scott Rosenberg
3-2    Composition No. 287 (+ 40D) 31:26
Contrabass – Matthew Sperry
Drums, Marimba, Vibraphone, Percussion, Percussion [Bowed Metals], Piano, Synthesizer, Electronics – Gino Robair
Guitar – John Shiurba
Sopranino Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone, Contrabass Clarinet, Flute – Scott Rosenberg
4-1    Composition No. 278 (+ 48) 18:59
Drums, Marimba, Vibraphone, Percussion, Percussion [Bowed Metals] – Gino Robair
Guitar – John Shiurba
Sopranino Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone [F], Alto Saxophone [Eb], Bass Saxophone, Contrabass Saxophone – Anthony Braxton
4-2    Composition No. 289 24:33
Alto Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone – Jesse Gilbert
Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – Justin Yang
Saxophone [C-melody], Baritone Saxophone – Dan Plonsey
Sopranino Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone [F], Alto Saxophone [Eb] – Anthony Braxton
4-3    Composition No. 195 18:26
Guitar – John Shiurba
Sopranino Saxophone – Anthony Braxton
Credits :
Alto Saxophone, Recorder [Soprano], Marimba – Jesse Gilbert (pistas: 1-1 to 2-2)
Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Bass Clarinet, Flute, Violin, Viola – Justin Yang (pistas: 1-1 to 2-2)
Contrabass – Matthew Sperry (pistas: 1-1 to 2-2)
Drums, Marimba, Vibraphone, Percussion, Piano, Synthesizer, Electronics – Gino Robair (pistas: 1-1 to 2-2)
Guitar, Voice – John Shiurba (pistas: 1-1 to 2-2)
Saxophone [C-melody], Oboe, Clarinet, Clarinet [Turkish G], Recorder [Soprano], Marimba, Vibraphone – Dan Plonsey (pistas: 1-1 to 2-2)
Sopranino Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone, Clarinet [Contrabass], Flute, Voice – Scott Rosenberg (pistas: 1-1 to 2-2)
Trumpet, Trumpet [Pocket, Trumpbone], Flugelhorn, Performer [Shell], Recorder [Tenor], Marimba – Taylor Ho Bynum (pistas: 1-1 to 2-2)
Trumpet, Voice – Greg Kelley (pistas: 1-1 to 2-2)
Written-By, Sopranino Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone [F], Alto Saxophone [Eb], Baritone Saxophone, Bass Saxophone, Contrabass Saxophone, Clarinet [Eb Soprano, Bb], Contrabass Clarinet – Anthony Braxton (pistas: 1-1 to 2-2)

ANTHONY BRAXTON | SCOTT ROSENBERG - Compositions / Improvisations 2000 (2000) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Scott Rosenberg is an impressive disciple of Anthony Braxton, and here the two perform a series of duets that build on the elder's sense of exotic harmony, rhythmic angularity, and iconoclastic vision. Rosenberg is so good that it is often difficult to distinguish the two horns from one another. Although the technical accomplishments of the duo are impressive, what makes this such an interesting listening experience is the range of sound, particularly when you consider that there are only two reeds involved. In a sense, this is a different direction for Braxton, as it bears little resemblance to his largely static "ghost trance music" that he popularized in the 1990s. Three of the tracks are free improvisations that lay bare the creativity of the performers, while Braxton contributed two of the remaining tracks (with Rosenberg composing the other three). Sometimes rough-toned, and at others exuding a simple beauty, the pieces reflect a satisfying completeness, where instant composition and written parts are variously indistinguishable and traditional rules suspended. While there is little melody in the conventional sense, there is a discreet attraction to the constructs of layered sound, which evolves in stimulating and wholly appealing ways. Steve Loewy  
Tracklist :
1     Statk 9:44
Scott Rosenberg
2     #168 6:55
Anthony Braxton
3     Improvisation 1:35
Anthony Braxton / Scott Rosenberg
4     LLNLR 6:55
Scott Rosenberg
5     Improvisation 2:17
Anthony Braxton / Scott Rosenberg
6     #65 7:56
Anthony Braxton
7     Improvisation 1:53
Anthony Braxton / Scott Rosenberg    
8     Eerhre 17:16
Scott Rosenberg
Credits :
Sopranino Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Contrabass Clarinet – Scott Rosenberg
Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Saxophone [C Melody Saxophone], Flute, Soprano Clarinet [Bb Clarinet], Contra-Alto Clarinet [Eb Contra Alto Clarinet], Contrabass Clarinet – Anthony Braxton