Welcome to AMN Celebrates Braxton 75, a multipart series focused on the work of American composer and multi-instrumentalist Anthony Braxton. Braxton, whom in 2020 will be celebrating his seventy-fifth birthday, is one of the most important and influential creative minds of the past fifty years. Each week this series will feature three to four links of live performances, interviews and articles found on the web that should be of interest to both the curious and the longtime explorers of Braxton’s music.
Despite the graphic for this video this is an audio only interview of Anthony Braxton in 1985. The interview runs about 30 minutes and covers topics ranging from Frankie Lymon to John Coltrane to Paul Desmond and so much more. An interesting listen.
This clip is from a series of clips featuring Walter Thompson and his orchestra with Anthony Braxton from 2009. Braxton participates as both a “sound painter” through his conduction of the ensemble and as an instrumentalist within the ensemble.
The final clip this week is a short excerpt from Braxton’s quintet in 1977 at the Moers Jazz Festival. The group was Braxton with George Lewis – trombone, Muhal Richard Abrams – piano, Mark Helias – bass, and Charles “Bobo” Shaw on drums. They are on fire but unfortunately we only get to hear Braxton’s solo in this nine-minute excerpt.
Join us again next week for another post as AMN Celebrates Braxton 75
Chris De Chiara
Avant Music News 