MORTON FELDMAN : Works for Piano (Marianne Schroeder) (1990) hat NOW Series | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

MORTON FELDMAN (1926-1987)
1.    Intermission 5 (1952)    3:54
2.    Piano Piece (To Philip Guston) (1963)    3:05
3.    Vertical Thoughts 4 (1963)    1:41
4.    Piano (1977)    29:17
5.    Palais De Mari (For Francesco Clemente) (1986)    24:42
Piano – Marianne Schroeder

MORTON FELDMAN : Works For Piano 2 (Steffen Schleiermacher) (1994) hat NOW Series | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

MORTON FELDMAN (1926-1987)
1.    Intermission V    4:12
2.    Piano Piece    8:47
3.    Two Intermissions    3:04
4.    Last Pieces    12:30
5.    Intermission VI    9:09
6.    Five Pianos 35:58
Piano – Isabel Mundry, Kristine Scholz, Mats Persson, Nils Vigeland, Steffen Schleiermacher
Piano – Steffen Schleiermacher

MORTON FELDMAN : Atlantis (Radio-Sinfonie-Orchester Frankfurt · Lucas Vis) (2000) Two Version | APE + FLAC (image+.tracks+.cue), lossless

The three orchestral works on this CD -- "String Quartet and Orchestra" (1973), "Oboe and Orchestra" (1976), and "Atlantis" (1959) -- all reflect Feldman's ongoing study of texture, color, and cluster within a larger context than his chamber or solo pieces. They provide evidence en masse that Feldman's method -- as developed from his early graphic notation style to his composition by intuitive assemblage in the middle years to his absolute control over every timbre (while granting the performer and intuitive energy of interpretation) in his late works -- worked in any compositional or performance context. "String Quartet and Orchestra" uses Feldman's instinctual use of repetition idiomatically with different shadings and clusters. The overtonal architecture constructed by the quartet is responded to fragmentally by the orchestra. Very gradually the palette expands and the architecture grows seemingly exponentially, even though only three more clustered tones are added. The effect is one of tension created by ambiguity. "Oboe and Orchestra" from three years later pits the tonal structure of the soloist in painterly opposition to that of the orchestra; colors not only contrast, but also clash in different spaces until they both give way and meld into a new schemata. Feldman created a dramatic element that allowed for the soloist's phraseology to reflect the score from his own sense of tone and breath, whereas the orchestra followed the composer's notion of pitch to the letter. The long drones accent the small dissonances and create yet one more sonic possibility for tones to come together in order to form new ones. "Atlantis" from the early period is included here, presumably because it is the earliest of Feldman's large-scale works. It has a fluttery nature, with scurrilous notes and clusters running over the top of the score while the notion of an "orchestra" (most of the work is played by woodwinds, a piano, and strings) is seldom invoked. But it does mark a rediscovery of form over the decentering, deconstructive work that he, John Cage, Earle Brown, and Christian Wolff did in the late '40s and early '50s (with form as an extension of instinct and energy, opening itself to random elements rather than giving way to them). It is much faster than his later work, but dynamically as subtle as anything he ever wrote. Along with "Coptic Light," it is a joy to hear Feldman's larger-scale works finally being performed and recorded. Hat has done its typically excellent job in its selection of performers and in its manner of recording, giving Feldman's work state-of-the-art treatment and, for now at least, a definitive recording of three obscure works by an under-celebrated 20th century master. 
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MORTON FELDMAN (1926-1987)
1.    String Quartet & Orchestra 25:50
Strings – Pellegrini-Quartet
2.    Oboe & Orchestra 16:38
Oboe – Han de Vries
3.    Atlantis    11:31]    7:48
Credits :
Conductor – Lucas Vis
Orchestra – Radio-Sinfonie-Orchester Frankfurt

MORTON FELDMAN : Why Patterns? Crippled Symmetry (Nils Vigeland · Eberhard Blum · Jan Williams) 2CD-SET (1991) hat NOW Series Two Version | APE + FLAC (image+.tracks+.cue), lossless

This double-disc collection of Morton Feldman's late-period work brings together two of his own most cherished pieces, both in the longer style that became his working method for the last 17 years of his life. Why Patterns? from 1978 is a work for flute, glockenspiel, and piano. It was inspired by Feldman's deep fascination with Persian rugs and their methods of creation. He discovered that there was an inexactitude in many of them that made the final product appear more mysterious and allowed for a deeper gaze on the part of the viewer. In true fashion, Feldman followed this course in creating a composition that followed suit. It consists of a large variety of patterns and is notated separately for each instrument. The trickiness is that in the score, the three parts don't coordinate or link up until very late in the score. The notation is close but is never synchronized, and it allows for more elaborate and chance relationships to develop in harmony, timbre, and color. Nothing given to one instrument is interchangeable, and the patterns, too, have their complications in that some repeat exactly and others with slight variations. Feldman creates a floating music that touches referent points seemingly only by chance, and intersects patterns at intervals that allow the listener a deeper mystery to contemplate. Crippled Symmetry is from 1983 and is one of Feldman's true masterpieces. Also written for flute, piano, and glockenspiel, it is notated as well for the inclusion of vibraphone and celesta. This work is over 90 minutes in length. It begins as a series of symmetrical statements by the percussion instruments and a phrase by the flutes that become interchangeable throughout the score's notation. Timbres and dynamics are in an arresting conflict with one another as the instruments struggle, seemingly, throughout the work for a kind of dynamic range that Feldman never allows to establish itself. Everything is played so softly and tentatively that a beautiful but defined dramatic tension is created by the nature of restraint itself. The glockenspiel and celesta hover about the irregular heartbeats of the vibraphone, which changes its patterns only three times in the course of the work but establishes a timbral superiority. Flutes take one line from the piano, one from the glock, and one from the celesta and cover all territories and patterns in the work as the piano creates minor triads that mysteriously shift emphasis from one interval to the next. What is symmetrical here is the constancy of movement -- its gentle, quiet, understated shifting of patterns and harmonic consonances. What is crippled is the strategy of the composer who creates these relationships among instruments and their tonal balances only to cancel them out gradually in favor of imbalances that must again work to create symmetry. This was Feldman's genius, never assuming anything about harmonic totality or tonal regularities. All tones in his work were ambiguities waiting to be encountered and entered into relationship with, however briefly. The three performers here, Jan Williams (glockenspiel and vibraphone), Nils Vigeland (piano and celesta), and Eberhard Blum (flutes), are intimately familiar with Feldman's notions about the mysterious nature of sonic encounter and (im)balances. They worked with him and were taught by him. They bring about a truly balanced and deeply nuanced reading of this work. And, as usual, Hat's recording quality is over the top. This two-disc set is still the watermark of definitive performance for these works, though many others have been attempted. 
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MORTON FELDMAN (1926-1987)
1-1.    Why Patterns?    31:20
1-2.    Crippled Symmetry    26:00
2-1.    Crippled Symmetry (Continued)    1:05:13
Credits :
Flute, Alto Flute, Bass Flute – Eberhard Blum
Glockenspiel, Vibraphone – Jan Williams
Piano, Celesta – Nils Vigeland

MORTON FELDMAN : Patterns In A Chromatic Field (Rohan de Saram · Marianne Schroeder) 2CD-SET (1995) hat NOW Series | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Morton Feldman's gargantuan Patterns in a Chromatic Field is, of all his works, his most self-explanatory. Over 105 minutes, Feldman constructs a sound world where half-tones are given free rein of expression outside the realm of keys assigned. A chromatic scale is 12 half-tones in an octave on the piano. But to Feldman and his performers here -- the truly gifted Marianne Schroeder on piano and Rohan DeSaram on violoncello -- the entire notion of chromatic harmony itself is the playing field. This is one of Feldman's most active works, where clusters and patterns of chromatic architecture emanate from outside other structures -- chords in major and minor keys -- employed as decoys. They are there simply to displace them and establish chromatic harmony as dominant in the relationship between tones in the Western overtone scale. There are periods where one of the instruments will drop out, such as near the middle of the first section when Schroeder all but disappears, leaving DeSaram to continue in chromatic regimen -- until she re-enters like a ghost, sparingly, playing the very chords he's been outside of the entire time. They are a referent to what was, not what is. All solidity in musical concept here falls away into repetitions of notes and oddly angled chords that simply "don't belong." Over the long period of time Feldman has given to familiarize them to the pattern system, they take on their own notion of stark yet pronounced beauty. And while it is true that there is no melody in this work, there does develop, in the manner in which Feldman engages his field of language with chromaticism of scale and harmony, a "melodic sensibility" in the spaces where conflict and non-engagement take place. This is, in the Feldman canon, a work of tremendous rigor and effort to sustain ideas within a restricted tonal environment and create a wider, freer musical language from it was -- a new watermark for a composer who had already crested many. Patterns in a Chromatic Field is among Feldman's most significant and enduring works, and perhaps more    
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MORTON FELDMAN (1926-1987)
1-1.    Patterns In A Chromatic Field    28:04
1-2.    Patterns In A Chromatic Field    29:54
2-1.    Patterns In A Chromatic Field (Continued)    22:11
2-2.    Patterns In A Chromatic Field (Continued)    25:09
Credits :
Violoncello – Rohan de Saram
Piano – Marianne Schroeder

MORTON FELDMAN : Clarinet and String Quartet (Ib Hausmann · Pellegrini Quartet) (1995) hat NOW Series | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

MORTON FELDMAN (1926-1987)
1-2.  Two Pieces For Clarinet And String Quartet    
3.  Clarinet And String Quartet    
4-5.  Two Pieces For Clarinet And String Quartet    
Credits :
Clarinet – Ib Hausmann
Strings – Pellegrini Quartet :
Cello – Helmut Menzler
Viola – Charlotte Geselbracht
Violin – Antonio Pellegrini, Thomas Hofer

MORTON FELDMAN : For Philip Guston (Nils Vigeland · Eberhard Blum · Jan Williams) 4CD-SET (1992) hat NOW Series | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

MORTON FELDMAN (1926-1987)
For Philip Guston (4:25:00)
Credits :
Glockenspiel, Vibraphone, Marimba, Chimes – Jan Williams
Piano, Celesta – Nils Vigeland
Piccolo Flute, Flute, Flute [Alto] – Eberhard Blum

URS LEIMGRUBER · FRITZ HAUSER — L'énigmatique (1992) Hat Jazz Series | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This 1991 pairing of two of Europe's finest free jazz and improv characters is a lesson in duo dynamics. Long before this date, Urs Leimgruber and Fritz Hauser knew each other well enough to dive deep into the sonic waters and trust that everything would come out OK. It came out better than that, in fact; this session is, for lack of a better term, a stunner. The sense of hearing that Leimgruber and Hauser show toward one another is so deep that they are able to display an economy of expression almost completely absent from the scene they participate in. On "The Arrival," Hauser moves first with a complex, constant 12/16 time signature while Leimgruber plays snake charmer over him. The music winds through two kinds of phraseology, involved only with sound and feeling and never method. The pace is very fast yet no extra notes are played, making the music sing. On "Distant Smell," tonal variation and spatial relationships are explored and elongated into a trancelike improvisation where the whisper of cymbals shimmers underneath soprano overtones by Leimgruber. He needs no drums to make his horn moan against the hushed ring of Hauser's "anti-percussion." And you can feel in this tune, and in the others here, genuine surprise on the part of the players. Leimgruber's tone on soprano is like Jackie McLean's alto -- the edge is part of the charm. His angularity in scalular investigation provides a wedge for intervallic expression by Hauser. On the title track that closes the set, Leimgruber multi-tracks his horns and Hauser's rhythms. The interwoven melody lines by soprano and tenor, playing like traffic signals against the rhythms, are playful and graceful, and they swing. Short, punchy phrases animate Hauser into Raymond Scott territory rhythmically. But the real gem here is the ten-minute "Long Forgotten Night," with its deep resonating percussion played from tom toms and log drums. From hushed phrases to long, droning soprano lines, Hauser and Leimgruber call out of the desolation to one another, attempting to speak in the darkness and lessen the distance the darkness seems to impose. What is "forgotten" by the musicians is the outside world; in this piece they exist in a void, and therefore have no one but each other to communicate with -- and they accept their fate and go about the business of communicating in the blackness. This sparse, hunted piece puts an already exceptional set over the top. 
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <- 
Tracklist :
1.    Ping    3:28
2.    The Arrival    4:34
3.    Hula-Hopp    3:21
4.    Distant Smell    5:05
5.    Benafim    1:18
6.    Flying Windows    3:38
7.    Wux    2:47
8.    Pong    3:34
9.    Le Départ    3:39
10.    The Commuter    8:23
11.    African Device    3:18
12.    Long Forgotten Night    10:57
13.    L'Énigmatique    3:58
Credits :
Drums, Percussion, Composed By – Fritz Hauser
Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone,Composed By  – Urs Leimgruber

URS LEIMGRUBER — Ungleich (1990) Hat Jazz Series | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

On the follow up to his amazing Statement of an Antrider, reed genius Urs Leimgruber chooses to record five more solo compositions for tenor, soprano, and "prepared" bass saxophones. Leimgruber is as adventurous as Anthony Braxton is in his exploration of microtonalities on his chosen instruments. He careens through different tones, modalities, nuances, interval; investigations and one would think meditations on sonority in these exercises. And unlike many of his peers who claim to seek the same things, there is order in Leimgruber's world he treats the world of sound as he would any other recognizable system with respect for its natural order and origins. Perhaps this is why he is so effective as an improviser -- his approach to his instrument is to extract from it a response that is congruent to what he put in. Bass god Adelhard Roidinger joins Leimgruber on three selections. Roidinger's a master of his instrumental technique -- whether he is bowing sonances in response to Leimgruber's long, silvery soprano lines, or playing counterpoint to his bass saxophone extrapolations. There are notions of jazz here in both the American and European uses of the word, and certainly the improvisation in play comes from Leimgruber's long involvement with the new music universe that has long struggled to maintain its unique identity. Both of these facets lend to his original voice. Judging by this recording, this is an improviser who can walk the knife's edge of the extreme and the accessible with ease, and it's easy to hear why: There is no academia in Leimgruber's approach. His playing comes from somewhere other than the brain; it comes from the worlds of sound and silence and the heart of the horns themselves. Bravo
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Tracklist :
1.    Egonance A  (10:00)
2.    Not Rueckwaerts    5:39
3.    Ungleichgewicht    10:50
4.    Egonance B    8:37
5.    Entre    5:35
6.    Tenir Tête    8:13
7.    Prélude Pour L.    3:51
8.    Estidian    4:00
Credits :
Bass – Adelhard Roidinger (tracks: 2, 5, 8)
Painting [Cover Painting] – Rolf Winnewisser
Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Bass Saxophone [Prepared], Composed By – Urs Leimgruber

URS LEIMGRUBER · ADELHARD ROIDINGER · FRITZ HAUSER — Lines (1994) Hat Jazz Series | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

From Art Lange's outrageously pretentious liner notes, one might get the impression that this bad-assed trio was trying to re-invent the line and extend it out into the nothingness of the beyond and perhaps beyond that into non-being. I dig Lange, but his liner notes on this set are pure junk. What the word "lines" refers to in the title of this record is simple: This is for these well-known improvisers a quest in playing the line, playing in a linear -- for them anyway -- fashion. The seven selections on this disc, all of which have references to the linguistic construct "line," are formidably constructs in and of themselves. This is some smoking new jazz that features a depth of communication and commitment to energy as they translate in a mostly linear fashion to the transfer of emotion from musician through musical instruments through to the listener. Period. Along the way are some pretty stunning solos and sharp ensemble playing that take the "lines" of melody and make them somewhat angular though never twisting them into something they're not. For instance, check out the call and response between Leimgruber's soprano solo and Roidinger's double bass, one line answered succinctly and precisely with another. And it gets better where spatial dynamics are used to created complex harmonics and polytonal inventions. Here, melody is ever-present -- the touch of "Blue Monk" and "Lonely Woman" in "Shifted" -- and "shifted" into a different melodic reality, one where overtones -- via the bowed bass -- create a drone for melodic improvisation to create a new kind of framework where rhythm and counterpoint all become part of the whole. On "Red," which closes the album, line is played out across rhythmic sections and splays itself over the entire construction of microtonal ambience and rhythmic pulse which is subtly shaded, but constant and, yes, linear. Line is what the best of new jazz is about, taking the bull by the horns and going as deep musically as the particular abilities of the musicians involved will take them. All lines lead to this trio. 
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <- 
Tracklist :
1.    Open    12:42
2.    Shifted    18:51
3.    Off    4:26
4.    Twisted    6:14
5.    Forgotten    6:15
6.    Up    6:56
7.    Red    10:26
Credits :
Composed By – Roidinger, Hauser, Leimgruber
Double Bass – Adelhard Roidinger
Drums, Percussion – Fritz Hauser
Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Urs Leimgruber 

URS LEIMGRUBER — Statement Of An Antirider (1989) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The mighty-lunged Urs Leimgruber steps out from his various ensembles on this date to play completely solo with his trio of saxophones -- tenor, soprano, and bass -- and the flute. Like Anthony Braxton and Roscoe Mitchell nearly 20 years before him, Leimgruber is after something that does not automatically come with being a "jazz" musician: the exploration in specific environments of the world of sound as it can be encountered by his chosen instruments. European improvisers can come across as too erudite and arrogant to American fans of jazz. That's too bad, because when it comes to extending the reach of particular instruments, methodology, and what free improvisation might mean if made a dominant concern of jazz at this time in history, the Europeans have much to contribute, and a big part of that contribution is made by Leimgruber. These solos are works of revolt, resistance, and great tenderness. Leimgruber embodies Che Guevara's statement that every revolutionary is motivated by great love. His love is the love of sound. With his perfected circular breathing technique -- used by other players such as John Coltrane, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, and Steve Lacy, among others -- that goes back to the time of the Buddha or even before as a meditation technique, Leimgruber plays meditations (note the pieces "Raga I" & "Raga II") on the nature of vibration, timbre, and color. These 65 minutes are fascinating not only for their academic value, but for their emotional power. Leimgruber is a player who forgoes his more theoretical aspects on paper by going for the throat with his horn -- even when that emotion is controlled as dictated by the texture of sound itself. And while it's true this record has nothing whatsoever to do with jazz, it has everything to do with music, and therefore every free jazz fan should take due note not only of it, but its creator.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
Tracklist :
1        Raga I    21:19
2        Leonor    17:34
3        Statement Of An Antirider    12:28
4        Raga II    9:50
5        Sefonito    3:36
Credits
Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Bass Saxophone, Flute, Composed By – Urs Leimgruber

STEVE LACY & STEVE POTTS — Flim-Flam (1991) Hat Jazz Series | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Tracklist :
1    The Crust    6:18
2    Flim-Flam    11:04
3    3 Points    21:04
4    The Whammies!    8:03
5    Rimace Poco    8:39
6    The Gleam    10:51
Credits :
Alto Saxophone [Right Channel], Soprano Saxophone [Right Channel] – Steve Potts
Soprano Saxophone [Left Channel], Composed By [All Compositions By] – Steve Lacy

MAARTEN ALTENA OCTECT - Rif (1990) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

When Rif was first issued on LP in 1987, it marked the first of numerous turning points for Dutch composer and bassist Maarten Altena. The ensemble for this date came from vastly different musical worlds such as pop, theater, improvisation, and post-bop jazz, among others. This assemblage, and this term is used in the sense of visual art, was for the express purpose of looking at what could be done within the limits of the octet structure. How big could you make it without overdubbing? How much could you throw at the wall and still make it stick? How many layers could be piled on top of one another before they all collapsed? Altena decided on a set that juxtaposed fixed compositions such as the noir-ish jazz of "Boa," with the minimal melodic framework of "Rondo," which then opened onto a vast improvisational field. Harmonic ranges were articulated on charts and time frames, other than that, only a skeletal, monody (all musicians playing along the same line contributing whatever they feel is necessary) was imposed. Otherwise, there are no rules. Altena also included the compositions of bandmates, pianist Guus Janssen's and violinist Maartje ten Hoorn's in his mix along with the closing piece, "Re-Mix" (nearly a game) by classical composer Steve Maartland for dimension. Musically we cross over all genre lines, so much so that they cease to matter. What is left -- and it is plenty -- is the process of "music-making," the business of how to play together and still be true to the improvisational spirit a piece calls for. For an example of this, note the juxtaposition of the microtonal study of the ballad in "Ruis," and the conjecture that soling instruments need not have structural, timbral, or intervallic priorities in "Rif." The dynamics are radically different in each work as is their approach to restraint, but it is in the freedom of the latter that makes the discipline of the former possible. Tonality and its dissonances are only part and parcel of the individual voices that are "consonant" with one another in both pre-composed and improvised works. That consonance or, unified willingness of purpose, creates the almost limitless possibilities for tonal and harmonic exploration. The elegance and playfulness of Rif is startling, given what Altena had accomplished on his previous recordings. If anything, Rif is what firmly established him not only as a composer but also as a bandleader, as later recordings would attest.  
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
Tracklist :
1    Boa 5:57
Written-By – Maarten Altena
2    Rondo 7:09
Written-By – Guus Janssen
3    Ruis 6:44
Written-By – Maarten Altena
4    Rif 11:26
Written-By – Maarten Altena
5    De Yup 5:16
Written-By – Maartje Ten Hoorn
6    Marre 7:36
Written-By – Maarten Altena
7    Dek 3:52
Written-By – Maarten Altena
8    Re-Mix 4:28
Written-By – Steve Martland
Credits :
Alto Saxophone, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet – Michael Moore
Bass – Maarten Altena
Percussion – Michael Vatcher
Piano, Synthesizer – Guus Janssen
Tenor Saxophone, Bass Clarinet – Peter van Bergen
Trombone – Wolter Wierbos
Trumpet, Horn [Alto] – Marc Charig
Violin – Maartje Ten Hoorn

PAUL BLEY — 12 + (6) In a Row (1991) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Paul Bley's elongated career has seen him careening across the Western musical horizon in so many settings, it's almost impossible to categorize them all. This 1990 date, recorded over two days, features Bley in one of his most playful settings. With collaborators Franz Koglmann and Hans Koch, Bley places himself in three distinct settings to explore, of all things the atonality proposed by Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern early in the 20th century. However, this is hardly a "classical" recording. It comes out of the jazz idiom that so firmly roots Bley; rhythmic intent is inherent in every one of these proceedings. Perhaps this is most evident on the eight solo pieces, which are merely numbered to distinguish them from the duos and trios. On the first, moving out from Monk and Lennie Tristano, Bley feels his way through one of Webern's tone rows in syncopation, swinging it through the middle with a lengthy quote from Albert Ammons. In the fourth trio, free improvisation comes from a serialist tone row and moves through all 12 tones before undoing itself in contrapuntal elegance and modal intervals based upon Scriabin's tone poems. Koglmann's duel with Koch is refreshingly funny here, a cat and mouse game in flats and sharps. In all, this is one of Bley's most curious and intimate works, where his own musical mind is given problems -- presented by serialism and its own undoing -- and his ways of resolving them or casting them out of his vocabulary. Brilliant.
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ANTHONY BRAXTON & GEORGE LEWIS — Donaueschingen (Duo) 1976 (1994) APE (image+.cue), lossless

A live set featuring duets by trombonist George Lewis and the reeds of Anthony Braxton might seem as if it would be a bit tedious, but the instant communication between the two keep the music continually fascinating. Braxton (who is heard on alto, sopranino, clarinet, contrabass clarinet, flutes, and contrabass saxophone) and Lewis engage in some colorful sound explorations on their compositions on a continuous basis for 41-and-a-half minutes, showing off not only their technique but their very sharp imagination. As an encore they surprised everyone by playing an effective three-and-a-half-minute version of Charlie Parker's "Donna Lee." Listeners with open ears will enjoy this colorful set. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1    Fred's Garden / Composition 6F    18:53
2    Composition 64 / Duet 1    22:27
3    Donna Lee 3:25
Written-By – Charlie Parker
Credits :
Alto Saxophone, Sopranino Saxophone, Contrabass Saxophone, Clarinet, Clarinet [Soprano], Clarinet [Contrabass], Flute – Anthony Braxton
Trombone – George Lewis

ANTHONY BRAXTON — Open Aspects (Duo) 1982 (1993) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Braxton first met and played with synthesizer pioneer Richard Teitelbaum in the late '60s, when both were members of the outstanding electro-acoustic improvising group Musica Elettronica Viva. Unlike most practitioners from the jazz and rock communities who tended to use the instrument like some sort of psychedelic organ, Teitelbaum was one of the first improvisers who really fleshed out its entire sonic palette, using it as a generator of hitherto unheard electronic sounds. The two have played together both in duo format and as part of larger ensembles ever since; this recording documents one such duo meeting in 1982. It appears that this session took place around the time that Teitelbaum was experimenting with interactive computer systems which would record live musicians and respond, improvise if you will, in real time. On several occasions, Braxton's alto is looped and played back into the mix, though it's difficult to tell how much, if any, alteration is done. Teitelbaum's notably deft touch itself makes it hard to determine whether it's his reaction or the computer. Whatever the technical aspects of the recording, the musical results are first rate and always warmly imaginative. his approach is refreshingly nonacademic and both musician's pure enjoyment and listening ability is readily apparent. Though there is little reference to jazz traditions, there is a lovely nod to Riley-esque minimalism in some tracks and a surging piece riding high on waves of synthesized propulsion that's as close to rock as Braxton's ever likely to come. For listeners interested in this facet of the artist's musical world (the interaction with electronics) this is a vital release, but it's also a fine example of one of the points of merger between the jazz and classical avant-garde. Brian Olewnick
Tracklist :
1    Open Aspect #3    12:43
2    Open Aspect #1.2.    7:51
3    Open Aspect #2    13:50
4    Open Aspect #4    5:33
5    Open Aspect #5    10:24
Open Aspect #6    (7:29)
6.1    Open Aspect #6.1.    2:31
6.2    Open Aspect #6.2.    2:37
6.3    Open Aspect #6.3.    2:20
7    7 Open Aspect #1.1.    15:28
Credits :
Alto Saxophone, Sopranino Saxophone – Anthony Braxton
Composed By – Anthony Braxton
Synthesizer [Moog], Computer [Micro Computer] – Richard Teitelbaum

ANTHONY BRAXTON - Town Hall (Trio & Quintet) 1972 (1992) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Tracklist :
1    Composition 6 N Dedicated To Jerome Cooper / Composition 6 (O) Dedicated To Frederic Rzewski    18:18
Written-By – Anthony Braxton
2    All The Things You Are 14:12
Written-By – Jerome Kern
3    Composition 6 P I    13:46
Written-By – Anthony Braxton
4    Composition 6 P II Dedicated To Jeanne Lee    21:25
Written-By – Anthony Braxton
Credits :
Alto Saxophone – Anthony Braxton
Double Bass – Dave Holland
Drums – Phillip Wilson (pistas: 1, 2)
Percussion, Marimba – Barry Altschul (pistas: 3, 4)
Soprano Saxophone, Flute, Contrabass Clarinet [Contrabasse], Soprano Clarinet, Clarinet [B-Flat], Percussion – Anthony Braxton (pistas: 3, 4)
Tenor Saxophone, Flute, Bass Clarinet, Gong, Percussion – John Stubblefield (pistas: 3, 4)
Voice – Jeanne Lee (pistas: 3, 4)

ANTHONY BRAXTON : Compositions 99, 101, 107 & 139 (1989) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Tracklist :
1    Composition 101 16:50
Piano [Bösendorfer] – Marianne Schroeder
Soprano Saxophone, Sopranino Saxophone – Anthony Braxton
2    Composition 139 12:27
Piano [Bösendorfer] – Marianne Schroeder
3    Composition 99 B (+ 97 C, 117 E, 117 H & 118 H) 7:42
Alto Saxophone – Anthony Braxton
Composition 107    (30:51)
4    Section A    4:19
5    Section B    4:57
6    Section C    9:03
7    Section D    7:27
8    Section E    5:05
Credits :
Alto Saxophone, Sopranino Saxophone – Anthony Braxton (tracks: 4 to 8)
Artwork – Constant Könz
Composed By – Anthony Braxton
Piano – Marianne Schroeder (tracks: 4 to 8)
Trombone – Garrett List (tracks: 4 to 8)

ANTHONY BRAXTON — Piano Music (Notated) 1968-1988 (Hildergard Klebb) 4CD (1996) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

In 1995 and 1996, Swiss pianist Hildegard Kleeb recorded a four-CD set containing nine of Anthony Braxton's notated piano works composed between 1968 and 1988, beginning with the piece that Braxton chose to designate as his first numbered "opus": "Composition No. 1 (1968)." Art Lange's textual commentary describes this thoughtful essay, with its divergent intervals, as a "song." The sonata-like "Composition No. 5 (1968)" might well have been its sequel. "Composition No. 139 (1988)" is a conventionally notated song-like cousin to the earlier works. All three exist within Braxton's designated realm of "frozen improvisation." These exercises in musical intuition appear to reflect the influence of Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern, and Karlheinz Stockhausen, even while reflecting Braxton's own developing systems of creativity. "Composition No. 10 (1969)," dedicated to Russian painter and theoretician Wassily Kandinsky, uses a graphic score as a blueprint for improvisation. This means that composer and performer collaborate in ways (and with results) that cannot occur when every single note and dynamic directive are written down. "Composition No. 16 for Four Pianos (1971)" was originally improvised by the composer, and the nature of the graphic/symbolic score allows for maximum freedom of interpretation. Kleeb's overdubbed realization is gradual, employs silence as a structural element, and lasts twice as long as the original. "Composition No. 33 (1974)" introduces a horde of static nebulae. This work places unusual responsibilities upon the interpreter, including phraseology, dynamics, and tempi. Lange compares it with the works of Iannis Xenakis and Morton Feldman. "Composition No. 30 (1973)" is a living embodiment of Arnold Schoenberg's cardinal assignment: to search for the sake of searching. The 82-page score is an expansive and freely formed catalog of ideas and potential actions. "Composition No. 32 (1974)," resulting from a 76-page score, introduces note clusters which are generated with the sustaining pedal held to the floor. Lange rightly compares this piece with works by Cecil Taylor and Olivier Messiaen. The rafts of percussive tonality are similar to those conjured by Braxton himself when he demonstrated a thunderous keyboard technique with his Piano Quartet, recorded live at Yoshi's Nitespot in Oakland, CA in June of 1994. "Composition No. 31 (1974)" comes from an 85-page score dedicated to Iannis Xenakis. Here we encounter the most charming surprise of all, as Braxton is said to have cited Thomas "Fats" Waller as a major early influence -- right up there with Schoenberg and Stockhausen -- as both composer and improviser. Art Lange contributes wonderful insights as he identifies substantial parallels between Waller and Braxton, including "Collage Logic," "Language Forms, and "Shifting Points of Emphasis." Precious evidence that all music is relative; that the imagination is a non-linear, living organism that cannot be confined by critically cramped pigeon-holing, by historical delineation,or by market-based categorization; and that the ritual and spiritual functions, as the composer puts it, are of paramount importance. Composer Anthony Braxton and his interpreter Hildegard Kleeb have given the world nine piano rituals that can and will transform anyone who enters with an open mind. arwulf arwulf  
Piano Music (I)
1-1 No. 1 (1968) 10:09
1-2 No. 5 (1968) 8:07
1-3 No. 10 (1969) 5:59
1-4 No. 16 (1971) 23:49
2-1 No. 33 (1974) 21:17
2-2 No. 30 (1973) 42:23
Piano Music (II)
3-1 No. 139 (1988) 14:39
3-2 No. 32 (1974) 34:56
4-1 No. 31 (1974) Part 1 29:05
4-2 No. 31 (1974) Part 2 23:25
Credits
Composed By – Anthony Braxton
Piano – Hildegard Kleeb
Producer – Anthony Braxton, Werner X. Uehlinger

ANTHONY BRAXTON — 2 Compositions (Ensemble) 1989/1991 (1992) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Tracklist :
1    Ensemble Modern Frankfurt–    Composition No. 147 16:46
Bass Clarinet, Saxophone – Wolfgang Stryi
Bassoon – Veit Scholz
Cello – Friedemann Dähn, Michael Stirling
Clarinet – Joachim Klemm, John Corbett, Roland Diry
Composed By – Anthony Braxton
Conductor – Diego Masson
Cor Anglais – Achim Reus, Vanessa King
Double Bass – Thomas Fichter
Flute – Anne La Berge, Dietmar Wiesner
Guitar – Klaus Obermaier
Harp – Karin Schmeer
Oboe – Catherine Milliken
Percussion – Rainer Römer, Rumi Ogawa-Helferich
Piano – Hermann Kretzschmar, Ueli Wiget
Producer [Produced By For Hessischer Rundfunk Frankfurt] – Hansalbrecht Stiebler
Sounds – Leslie Stuck
Trombone – Uwe Dierksen
Trumpet – Julian Brewer, Tony Cross
Viola – Almut Steinhausen, Werner Dickel
Violin – Hilary Sturt, Peter Rundel, Sebastian Gottschick, Thomas Hofer
Composition No. 151    
2    Creative Music Ensemble Hamburg–    Part I 24:26
3    Creative Music Ensemble Hamburg–    Part II 31:44
All Credits