New Anthony Braxton 5.1 BDA

[humprof]

Braxton is a living legend--a prolific composer of avant-garde (but not only avant-garde) jazz and classical music. He has a Blu-Ray of new compositions coming out early next month, on his 76th birthday, with stereo and 5.1 mixes.

Probably very few people on QQ, including me, will be inclined to spend 80 bucks for 11+ hours of what sounds, from the (49-minute!) sample track, like pretty long-haired stuff. (His 1978 For Four Orchestras CD4 box set is enough for me.) But how many other kids on your block will have one?

https://firehouse12records.com/album/12-comp-zim-2017
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Braxton

 

[humprof]

Here's a review. (Nothing about the 5.1 mix, though.)

https://burningambulance.com/2021/06/08/anthony-braxton/

 

[ltorreg1]

Amazon has this for the ridiculously price of $14.99 - The label (Firehouse 12 ) has it listed on their Bandcamp page for $80. I believe the price on Amazon is probably a mistake and will be corrected in the future, but I am posting the link in case anyone wants to take advantage of this. Amazon.com: 12 Comp (ZIM) 2017 [Blu-ray]: Anthony Braxton: Movies & TV

 

[humprof]

Amazon has this for the ridiculously price of $14.99 - The label (Firehouse 12 ) has it listed on their Bandcamp page for $80. I believe the price on Amazon is probably a mistake and will be corrected in the future, but I am posting the link in case anyone wants to take advantage of this. Amazon.com: 12 Comp (ZIM) 2017 [Blu-ray]: Anthony Braxton: Movies & TV

Holy cats--thank you! Ordered. I just hope Amazon rather than Firehouse 12 eats the loss. The label is artist-run.

 

[humprof]

Extensive new interview posted last Friday at Grammy.com:
https://www.grammy.com/grammys/news/2021-anthony-braxton-interview-12-comp-zim-quartet-standards

 

[ltorreg1]

I

Holy cats--thank you! Ordered. I just hope Amazon rather than Firehouse 12 eats the loss. The label is artist-run.

Both a local store here in Michigan and Amazon have this at ridiculously low prices. My guess would be that whoever Firehouse 12’s distributor is made the mistake. Firehouse 12 has it listed on their Bandcamp site for $80.

 

[newslane]

Thanks for the heads-up. Ordered!

 

[jsulzinger]

Received from Amazon for $15. I have the hi-res download code if anybody wants it. First PM gets it.

 

[erebus]

Listening now at 20:18 minutes into the first track, Composition No. 402. Very well recorded live performance with microphone placements creating a nicely separated surround field. The instruments blend with each other and stand by themselves. This is a feat of sound engineering. Reminds me in parts of Zappa's work with Boulez in the 80s. The combination of instruments create a small symphony. It's chamber jazz in places and other things from one minute to the next. The players converse in tones unable to be spoken.

Track 2: Composition No. 408. A brass, reed and string band sounds like a beautiful lagoon at night, all insects and amphibians. An accordion and trumpet duet emerges and morphs into many other combination of instruments. This may not be for all tastes, but I love it. Alto sax and harp play staccato figures and find peace in a cello and tuba duet. A harp quietly speaks from the darkness and gives way to plaintive cries. This is light and heavy music.

The harps sometime use guitar techniques that add another dimension. Accordion sounds like keyboards and receive some nice distorted sound treatment. A lone bassoon rises from the murk to claim its space in the sound withal. Processed piano exclaims wildness. Jungle noises abound. A man chants into the wind the voice of his people. There's electronic manipulation on the keyboard at certain times where the instruments stop together and start again to create a new world.

This is very challenging music that demands people pay attention in order to follow. If avant-garde isn't your bag, you'll be bored as hell. But maybe it can make for a few converts. On a technical level, this release maybe proves to me that a single Blu-ray can hold over 11 hours of surround content in high definition.

 

[mkt]

Great find and great deal! Thanks! It's very abstract, but more accessible than I expected.

 

[humprof]

Review by Nate Chinen on NPR's Morning Edition:
https://www.npr.org/2021/06/17/9986...nthony-braxton-continues-to-defy-expectations

 

[esimms86]

Review by Nate Chinen on NPR's Morning Edition:
https://www.npr.org/2021/06/17/9986...nthony-braxton-continues-to-defy-expectations

Very interesting reading this article practically back to back with the NY Times article on Joan Armatrading. Two distinctly different visions of a framework in which to compose music(the classic three minute song structure vs Braxton’s unconventional approach to structuring his music), both equally valid and with lifelong highly creative artists at the center. The word that comes to mind, borrowing from the film world as it were, is “auteur.”

 

[newslane]

Years ago I served on the Board of the Center for Contemporary Arts in Santa Fe, and we presented a show with Anthony Braxton and Richard Teitelbaum. I asked the Director to introduce me to Anthony after the show.

I had a book about jazz artists that featured a photo of him playing chess in Washington Square, and part of the caption read, "during lean times he earned his living at the game." When I mentioned this, he asked, "do you have a board"?

We arranged to play over dinner that night. The first three matches he annihilated me, but, strangely, I won #4. He crushed me in #5. I said, "after game three you thought I was losing interest, didn't you?" He just smiled.