Welcome to AMN Celebrates Braxton 75, a multipart series focused on the work of American composer and multi-instrumentalist Anthony Braxton. Braxton, who 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.
We start this week with a concert from 1976 at San Jose State University. The concert featured Anthony Braxton – reeds, Roscoe Mitchell – reeds, Richard Teitelbaum – synthesizer and Allen Strange – musical easel. The concert was presented in quadraphonic sound but this recording was made on a handheld stereo cassette recorder. Despite the low-fi sound, this is a wonderful concert. The second part is also available and well worth the listen.
In 2005 as part of “Braxton at 60: A Celebration”, Kevin Whitehead gave a talk at Wesleyan University, in which he explores Braxton’s relationship to “jazz”. “Braxton & Jazz: IN the Tradition” is an adaptation of that talk in print format.
We end this week with a 2019 performance of Anthony Braxton’s Composition No. 63 for two soloists and chamber orchestra. Performed by the Mills Performing Group during the “Anthony Braxton 75th Birthday Celebration Concert” at Mills College, Oakland, California.
Join us again next week for another post as AMN Celebrates Braxton 75
Chris De Chiara
Avant Music News 