Friday, December 5th, 2003 ... 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. ... KZSU, 90.1 FM

A special devoted to Anthony Braxton, in honor of his Dec. 11 concert at the Victoria Theatre in San Francisco. DETAILS: click here.

Tried to highlight Braxton's "Ghost Trance Music," which is probably what he'll be playing on the 11th. His band will be a ten-piece featuring several Bay Area favorites. The 4-CD set "Six Compositions" on Rastascan, which I played twice, highlights this kind of music: Long pieces with long written lines based on a pulse rhythm with "hiccups" written into the mix. The band usually breaks from the pulse to dive into some untethered improv, then returns to the pulse. The pieces do take patience, but they ought to be captivating live.

Format:
ARTIST: ALBUM TITLE (LABEL, YEAR) ... TRACKS

Anthony Braxton -- "Composition No. 94 (forward reading)" [excerpt] -- Composition No. 94 for Three Instrumentalists (1980) (Golden Years of New Jazz, 1999)

Anthony Braxton -- "Joy Spring" -- Seven Standards 1985, Volume 1 (Windham Hill, 1985)

An example of Braxton's standards work. "Normal" jazz, in other words, and he's very good at it.

Anthony Braxton -- "Composition No. 245" -- Four Compositions (GTM) 2000 (Delmark, 2003)

Anthony Braxton -- "Composition No. 286 (+147, 20, 69D, 256, 173, 6J, 162, 23A)" -- Six Compositions (GTM) 2001 (Rastascan/Barely Auditable/Limited Sedition, 2002)

A colossal 90-minute piece that highlights the herky-jerky pulse of Braxton's "Ghost Trance Music." This piece was recorded by a tentet similar to the group that will play on the 11th, and I think it's the only recorded instance of this particular tentet so far.

Sort of a pre-cursor to the Ghost Trance Musics? This piece features some of the same pulsing rhythms. It's performed by a string orchestra with four saxophone conductor/soloists, very different kind of sound.

Braxton plays piano too! Quite well, in fact. This is a 2-CD set of abstract interpretations of standards.

Weirdest Braxton CD ever, according to past KZSU DJ Eva. It's a play, about a ski trip, with dialogue interspersed with chunks of music. The music sounds improvised but probably follows predirected structures. The play seems to be a journey through Braxton's musical systems, but it's really dense, difficult stuff: "At rest area BB 34 and S 22 (+4m, 3, and No. 62) please be sure to explore the jumping distance potential of the landscape." Or: "'We believe that our system is the safest in this region,' cries Ashmenton. 'The concept of sound mass exploration in this context gives the friendly traveler a chance to have a moment.'"

Anthony Braxton -- "Composition No. 23M (+108C)" -- Twelve Compositions/Live at Yoshi's (Music and Arts, 1994)

Anthony Braxton -- "Composition No. -2" -- News from the 70s (Felmay, 1999; recorded 1973)

Not really number negative 2, I think ... with Kenny Wheeler on flugelhorn. This CD is made up of previously unreleased tapes and makes an interesting mini-biography of his work in the '70s. In this case, I'm guessing the track title was lost, and they christened it "-2" for this CD (there's a "-1" on here too).

Anthony Braxton and Derek Bailey -- Area 3 (Open) -- First Duo Concert (London) 1974 (Emanem, 1996; orig. released 1974)

Anthony Braxton and Stuart Gillmore -- "Kansas City Man Blues" -- 14 Compositions (Traditional) 1996 (Leo, 1998)

Duets with a piano, a set of old '10s and '20s jazz songs, some famous, some obscure, played mostly straight. A different little diversion in the Braxton library.

Anthony Braxton -- [diagrammed title; something like "N/M488/44M, Z"] -- 3 Compositions of New Jazz (Delmark, 1991)

Anthony Braxton's Charlie Parker Project -- "Hot House" -- Anthony Braxton's Charlie Parker Project (Hat Art, 1995)

Nice 2-CD set of mostly Charlie Parker covers. "Hot House" is the opening track, and it dives directly into a fantastic sax solo. Great band on here, including Dutch superstars Han Bennik (drums, for 1/2 the program) and Misha Mengelberg (piano); also Ari Brown (sax), Paul Smoker (trumpet), Joe Fonda (bass) and Pheeroan AkLaff (the other drummer).

* = Item in KZSU rotation
! = Pop anomaly
? = Item not in KZSU library

-- Go back to Memory Select playlists.
-- Bay Area free/improv music calendar: http://www.bayimproviser.com.