Search - Anthony Braxton :: Jump or Die

This takes some serious nerve (and it is about time!)

greg taylor | Portland, Oregon United States | 05/01/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the first (and there are still only two) CDs that I know of that are dedicated to the music of Anthony Braxton on which he himself does not play. The other CD is a hard to find hat[now]ART CD led by Guillermo Gregorio. As much as I like Gregorio as an alto player, I think this effort is the better of the two.
This project arose out of gig in Maine where both the Splatter Trio (Dave Barrett-saxs, Gino Robair-drums and Myles Boisen- guitar and bass) and Debris (Arthor Weinstein-guitar, Steve Norton-saxs, Curt Newton- drums and Keith Hedger on cornet) were playing. On the way home, the project was born out of a conversation between Robair and Norton. They enlisted the support of Braxton who provided them with the musical scores (most of which had never been recorded before) and the instrumental aid of Randy McKean on alto sax, Gregg Bendian on vibes and percussion and Tom Plsek on trombone.
A decision was made to utilize a Braxton technique that had been developed in Braxton groups during the 80s, i.e., the use of multiple compositions being played by different portions of the ensemble or by the soloist against the original composition still being played by the group.
I know all this sounds very intellectual and theoretical but the music isn't. Braxton has never received his due for his musical humor (as well developed as that of Mingus) or his whimsy. This CD displays the full range of Braxton's oeuvre for an ensemble of this size. There is an integrated use of electronics, there are marches, snatches of Braxton's (mighty) contributions to the hard bop repretoire, his understanding and use of compositional techniques from the modern classical tradition and his love of the cool school of jazz. The playing by all is outstanding. I would be hard pressed to pick out individuals as more worthy of notice than the others.
What is worthy of notice is the effort that was put out in the service of Braxton's music. Tiziano Tononi, on his great homage project to Rahsaan Roland Kirk, notes how rare it is for a group of musicians to do that. It is an effort born of humility and respect. There is no body of music that has been created by any musician in the last fifty years in any genre of music that is more deserving of such respect as Mr. Braxton's. We can only hope that others will take up the challenge."