incisive speed *bumps*, not "burns."
― dow, Tuesday, 18 May 2021 23:43 (three years ago) link
I interviewed alto saxophonist and bebop diehard Charles McPherson the other week; the results are in my new Stereogum column, along with reviews of the new Jaimie Branch, Sons of Kemet, James Brandon Lewis, and other albums.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Thursday, 20 May 2021 18:58 (three years ago) link
Nate Smith is playing an outdoor show here next month with his band, looks like that will be my first post-COVID show (where I'm not playing)
― change display name (Jordan), Thursday, 20 May 2021 19:12 (three years ago) link
Enjoying the 'new' Bheki Mseleku (studio recording from 2003). I'd not heard him before: solo piano, big rolling sound, Jarrett by way of Johannesburg.
https://tapestryworks.bandcamp.com/album/beyond-the-stars
― Vanishing Point (Chinaski), Saturday, 22 May 2021 12:35 (three years ago) link
https://annawebber.bandcamp.com/album/idiom
new Anna Webber album!
― calzino, Friday, 28 May 2021 08:23 (three years ago) link
Good Dave Holland trio track: "Mashup," from Another Land("Nonstop" would have been an apt title too):https://editionrecords.com/releases/another-land/
― dow, Sunday, 30 May 2021 01:11 (three years ago) link
new to me, on International Anthem so better check it out: More Energy Fields, Currentby Carlos Niño & FriendsTagged in label notes as 10 pristine gems of collaborative communication helmed by the Southern Californian sage, elegantly presented in his unique “Spiritual, Improvisational, Space Collage” style. And sounds like the improvisational part might feed and respond to the Space Collage: it's more jazz than set piece, like the tracks, never too long, might be scooping up something along the way, lighting in the bottle and vice-versa. Wonder if they play live, with loops, maybe? (I imme
Listening on headphones, I keep getting aerial glimpses of the Pacific Coast Highway, interspersed w more time in little caves and coves: an intimate, though airy, small group sound, always incl. Niño (percussion, sound design, editing, mixing) and I think always Jamael Dean on keys, with others sometims on drums, tenor and/or flute, synths, and voices (on one track: wordless ones, don't worry, of Laraaji and Sharada). Shabaka Hutchings, Dntel, Adam Rudolph, Aaron Shaw, a bunch of others, coming in and moving on, at least for a while, never too many at once.
First one to command my attention was "Nightswimming," then so many of the others that I gave up on linking a favorite in addition to the whole thing:https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/more-energy-fields-current
― dow, Monday, 31 May 2021 21:57 (three years ago) link
Niño’s previous album on IA, Chicago Waves, is live if you’re curious! I think I described it as more like ambient/new age than jazz on the IA thread but I liked it a lot
― rob, Monday, 31 May 2021 22:08 (three years ago) link
Will check, thanks! Ambient/New Age usually puts me right to sleep, but this got me more awake.Also, this one has *kind* of a DePlume vibe, or related appeal,anyway, but maybe earlier in the day or evening, and a little more spare?https://alabasterdeplume.bandcamp.com/
― dow, Monday, 31 May 2021 22:15 (three years ago) link
I had been wondering about this — the 3CD version has been out of print for a long time and fetches absurd sums on Discogs, and there was a rumor that something big was coming.
BLUE NOTE ANNOUNCES JULY 30 RELEASE FOR LEE MORGAN - THE COMPLETE LIVE AT THE LIGHTHOUSEAN EXPANSIVE COLLECTION OF THE LEGENDARY TRUMPETER’S EPIC 1970 ENGAGEMENT AT THE HERMOSA BEACH, CALIFORNIA VENUEPRESENTING ALL 12 SETS OF MUSIC HIS QUINTET RECORDED OVER 3 NIGHTSAVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER AS 8-CD & LIMITED-EDITION 12-LP ALL-ANALOG 180g VINYL SETS
Blue Note Records has announced a July 30 release date for Lee Morgan The Complete Live at the Lighthouse, an expansive collection that presents for the very first time all 12 sets of music the legendary trumpeter’s quintet with saxophonist Bennie Maupin, pianist Harold Mabern, bassist Jymie Merritt, and drummer Mickey Roker recorded during their historic engagement at The Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach, California from July 10-12, 1970. Originally released 50 years ago in 1971 as a 2-LP set, and later expanded to a 3-CD set in 1996, this definitive edition produced by Zev Feldman and David Weiss will be available as an 8-CD set and a limited-edition 12-LP all-analog 180g vinyl set that encompasses 33 performances including more than 4 hours of previously unreleased music that lets the listener relive the experience of being in the club for every exhilarating moment. Watch the unboxing video here. A previously unreleased version of Mabern’s composition “The Beehive” from the 2nd set on Saturday, July 11 is available now to stream or download.
Both physical formats are accompanied by an enlightening booklet featuring new interviews with Bennie Maupin and the last extensive interview with Jymie Merritt before his passing last year; essays by Jeffery McMillan (author or Delightfulee: The Life and Music of Lee Morgan) and Michael Cuscuna; statements from Jack DeJohnette, Wallace Roney, Nicholas Payton, Charles Tolliver, Eddie Henderson, Dave Douglas, and others; previously unpublished photos by Joel Franklin and Lee Tanner; as well as a statement from Morgan’s family. The audio was mixed from the original ½” 4-track tapes by Steve Genewick at Capitol Studios with LP mastering by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and 180g vinyl manufactured at Record Technology Inc. (RTI) in Camarillo, California. CD mastering was done by Robert Vosgien at Capitol Studios.Bennie Maupin, saxophonist“Right from the beginning, we developed such a heart-to-heart connection with each other. I think that’s really reflected in what we did. It was just about being in the moment and capturing the moment, and we did that.”
Jymie Merritt, bassist“In a sense, it is holy music. And that was the thing I felt throughout the performances at The Lighthouse, this was totally uncompromised music in terms of the way it went down.”
Don Was, President, Blue Note Records“’Live at the Lighthouse’ probably gives us the clearest picture of where Lee Morgan was headed and, as such, is a record of monumental importance.”
Zev Feldman, producer“‘Live at the Lighthouse’ is an all-time desert island disc for me and to be ushering in a complete edition of this magnitude—each set, night-by-night just like if you were at the club witnessing it live—is nothing short of a dream come true. This was one of the very first projects I wanted to pursue when I came to Blue Note. I had prior knowledge that there was 4-plus hours of unissued material sitting on the shelves, but I didn't realize how great it was until hearing it all. Just as these musicians worked to create a recording that would stand the test of time, we made every effort to create a package that would serve that legacy.”
PERSONNEL:Lee Morgan – trumpet, flugelhornBennie Maupin – tenor saxophone, flute, bass clarinetHarold Mabern – pianoJymie Merritt – Ampeg bassMickey Roker – drumsJack DeJohnette – drums (on "Speedball" from Friday, July 10, Set 4)
Original recordings produced by Francis Wolff
TRACK LISTING:*previously unissued
Friday, July 10, 1970Set 1Introduction by Lee Morgan (2:06)The Beehive (12:51) *Introduction (0:20)Something Like This (12:43)Yunjana (14:28) *Speedball (4:34) *
Set 2I Remember Britt (16:45) *Introduction (0:19)Absolutions (21:55) *Speedball (3:46) *
Set 3Introduction (0:33)Neophilia (18:52) *Introduction (0:47)416 East 10th Street (11:46)The Sidewinder (12:49)Speedball (0:53)
Set 4Introduction (0:30)Peyote (13:23) *Speedball (11:55)
Saturday, July 11, 1970Set 1Aon (13:47)Introduction (0:21)Yunjana (17:32) *
Set 2Introduction (0:14)Something Like This (11:46) *Introduction (0:28)I Remember Britt (14:25)Introduction (0:47)The Beehive (15:23) *Speedball (7:00) *
Set 3Neophilia (19:18) *Nommo (17:44)
Set 4Peyote (11:24) *Absolutions (22:28)
Sunday, July 12, 1970Set 1Introduction (1:37)Something Like This (15:39) *Introduction (0:29)Yunjana (16:07)
Set 2I Remember Britt (16:19) *Absolutions (19:35) *Speedball (0:27)
Set 3Introduction (1:19)Neophilia (18:59)Introduction (0:46)The Beehive (15:11)Speedball (1:59)
Set 4Peyote (9:27)Nommo (19:19) *
― but also fuck you (unperson), Thursday, 3 June 2021 13:30 (three years ago) link
Absolutely my favorite Morgan record, and one of my favorites by anyone, ever. I've pretty much committed the 3CD set to memory, and I cannot wait for this box.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Thursday, 3 June 2021 16:21 (three years ago) link
My grandfather dubbed me a bunch of cassettes of his jazz records back when I was in high school. One was this but it was either unlabeled or mislabeled, and I spent years wondering who made Neophilia.
― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Thursday, 3 June 2021 16:28 (three years ago) link
Universal Music's webstore (which includes Blue Note stuff) is running a sale and I was able to pre-order the Lee Morgan box for $60 - free shipping - using the code SUMMER25.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Friday, 4 June 2021 22:22 (three years ago) link
Thanks! here's a chunk:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NB3yDSbc1yc
― dow, Saturday, 5 June 2021 00:28 (three years ago) link
This Anthony Braxton interview is...something. I don't even want to pull out any quotes. Just read the whole thing.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Sunday, 6 June 2021 19:04 (three years ago) link
Wow, I just listened to his version of "Desafinado". It's very nice but I've never heard him play anything nearly this comparatively straight-ahead before. (I'm not an expert on his catalogue.) Probably won't buy a 13-disc set but I'm eager to hear more of these.
― Sequel to Sadness (Sund4r), Sunday, 6 June 2021 21:36 (three years ago) link
― but also fuck you (unperson), Friday, June 4, 2021 6:22 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink
Thanks for the head's up! I just ordered. Too sweet a deal to pass up.
― Paul Ponzi, Sunday, 6 June 2021 21:39 (three years ago) link
The standards box is great. I'm reviewing it for Bandcamp soon.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Sunday, 6 June 2021 21:43 (three years ago) link
Expectations and Experience is certainly an apt title for Shawm Maxwell's new album of---jazz miniatures! A startling, refreshing experience: each track has its own identity, and satisfying enough lifespan (which can be tantalizing) in the cohesion, though "Alternative Facts," one of my faves, is the Crocus Behemoth at 4:17, without seeming any longer then the others (many are a little over one or two minutes): 17 tracks, unique subsets of 30 players total, as the leader-composer shifts between alto, soprano, and clarinet (bot mostly alto, I think) It's Young Chicago Today, continuing to see and hear so much, ready as anybody can be for quarantine, terse and witty, but not brittle, pensive sometimes, but not getting stuck in there, more of a ricochet though the grid of situations, with some aerial views---is it deep enough? The leader's succinct comments on the basis of each composition sometimes led me into great distracting expectations, but that's what I get for reading along while listening, should never do that. But it swept my few reservations along, though a (maybe!) stronger second half, especially? (Maybe, but the whole thing, incl. ballads, is quite a spin) https://shawnmaxwell.bandcamp.com/
― dow, Monday, 7 June 2021 18:31 (three years ago) link
Sometimes it's like the effective contrast between what you might expect from the title of Attica Blues and its actual sound: not harrowing catharsis, or a dirge, but a countermove to the weight, coming up for air, never stopping for long.
― dow, Monday, 7 June 2021 18:43 (three years ago) link
I like the concept but it was rubbing me the wrong way for some reason, I'll try the second half another time.
These Tim Daisy/Vasco Trilla drum duets are really doing it for me however:https://timdaisyrelayrecords.bandcamp.com/album/vasco-trilla-and-tim-daisy-bristling-duets-2021-relay-031
― change display name (Jordan), Monday, 7 June 2021 19:38 (three years ago) link
Oho, will check that, thanks. Yeah the Maxwell takes some getting used to; my reservations may come back. The mostly short tracks on Logan Richardson's Afrofuturism are roomier than Maxwells, bigger inside than out, in savvy cosmic showmanship that works even/especially on 8:14 "The Birth of Us," and a few more that go on for up to six minutes, but end just right (with a aoundtrack-associated continuity, incl. of synth and maybe organ, slipping in and out), Also, even though I haven't caught all the words in vocal samples, the timing, placement, cadence, and texture of voices is deft. Also: effective, wordless, non-scatting sung solo on "According to You," with happy response of strings, which previously appeared in the threnody "Black Wall Street," stirred by brief, incisive sax solo. "Birth..." seemed between Attica Blues and The Epic, and that impression took hold (speaking of savvy cosmic showmanship), but there's always a sense of Richardson's own concerns, of somebody thinking, of wariness and boldness, finding and seeking, solace and shelf life.https://loganrichardsonmusic.bandcamp.com/
― dow, Monday, 7 June 2021 20:16 (three years ago) link
Lots of good stuff in here, I'm going to check out the Skuli Sverrison + Bill Frisell record and the posthumous Ralph Peterson (!) record, and I once again recommend hometown hero/drummer Devin Drobka's ambient contemporary classical piano trio record:https://daily.bandcamp.com/best-jazz/the-best-jazz-on-bandcamp-may-2021
― change display name (Jordan), Wednesday, 9 June 2021 17:11 (three years ago) link
I guess the Skuli & Frisell record is from a few years ago, but is lovely.
The Ralph Peterson record is excellent. :(
― change display name (Jordan), Thursday, 10 June 2021 14:27 (three years ago) link
― EvR, Thursday, 10 June 2021 15:01 (three years ago) link
...there will be a repressing if 90 more people reserve a $400 copy of the whole 5-lp set.
― EvR, Thursday, 10 June 2021 15:15 (three years ago) link
It seems like departed pianist Joan Wildman left a bunch of veritably unheard private press records in a storage unit, now being sold by a Milwaukee-based auction house for $50 a pop. Interesting mix of early electronics and new music/jazz piano improvisation, particularly on "Disintegration"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rW5-TM65fY4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWAuu9jQBDI
― heyy nineteen, that's john belushi (the table is the table), Thursday, 10 June 2021 15:23 (three years ago) link
Oh, cool. It's funny, the whole time I was at UW Madison, I never once encountered her. I would just hear stories, and I was on Team Richard Davis (and I think there was some tension between them?). I also had no idea about making electronic music back then. But I wish I could have taken a class from her, she seems like a very interesting lady.
― change display name (Jordan), Thursday, 10 June 2021 21:16 (three years ago) link
Also re: that Bandcamp list above, can confirm that the Schlarb/Taylor "Time No Changes" record is some seriously good ECM style jazz in the vein of Tibbets or Towner. Been playing it a lot the past few days.
― heyy nineteen, that's john belushi (the table is the table), Friday, 11 June 2021 01:10 (three years ago) link
I saw Nate Smith & Kinfolk in Madison last night, apparently their first post-pandemic show (!). Beautiful evening, a jazz-sized but enthusiastic crowd outdoors in a soccer stadium that usually has much larger concerts. Band was Nate, Jaleel Shaw, Fima Ephron, and Brad Allen Williams on guitar.
Incredible set, a lot of it really had a Brian Blade Fellowship jazz-Americana vibe (the guitarist especially, who's from Nashville apparently). And it looks like Jon Cowherd plays with them sometimes? But he threw in enough Nate Smith doing Nate Smith beat things for the people (incl. a Funky Drummer break routine w/JB samples that seemed specifically made for me, since that's all I've been practicing for the last couple weeks). You could tell there was a little bit of rust, like some missed hits, but nothing that mattered, it was incredibly musical & focused. Even the set programming was perfect, everyone took short solos as a matter of course but each member got one tune to stretch out on. Anyway, see this band if you can.
― change display name (Jordan), Monday, 14 June 2021 14:59 (three years ago) link
Sorry Memphis, not Nashville
― change display name (Jordan), Monday, 14 June 2021 15:01 (three years ago) link
These Tim Daisy/Vasco Trilla drum duets are really doing it for me however:https://timdaisyrelayrecords.bandcamp.com/album/vasco-trilla-and-tim-daisy-bristling-duets-2021-relay-031 Will get back to that, but just now, about halfway through, I was wanting some variety, and jumped to Realy 030, which is: Tim Daisy: drums + percussion + marimba + turntables Ikue Mori: Electronics
Light and Shade... A selection of material recorded on various instruments reconstructed, reimagined, and remixed by NYC based electronic musician Ikue Mori. A remote collaboration shaped during a unique moment in time.Yeah, this moment, seems like: the perfect illusion of remix on the fly, with no sense of distancing, just whatever's brought forward, around and up and down, from Daisy's instruments, incl. whatever he's got going on the turntable. Nothing dumped on top or otherwise intruding (maybe voices in there at least once, but then again they may well be worked up from the frictions of percussion, or maybe samples of Robert Wyatt's Ladytron, or Enotron, or all of thee above). no jazz per se that, I've noticed yet, but that kind of appeal is generated by the freedom x process. Faves so far: "Thoughts are Things,' "Steel Flags."
https://timdaisyrelayrecords.bandcamp.com/album/tim-daisy-ikue-mori-light-and-shade-relay-030
― dow, Monday, 14 June 2021 22:43 (three years ago) link
incredible set, a lot of it really had a Brian Blade Fellowship jazz-Americana vibe You might like Charles Lloyd and the Marvels' Tone Poem, which opens with Ornette's "Peace," cautious, shrewd and flexing, then xpost "Ramblin'" sets off, having decided the coast is clear enough for now---only thing that bothers me is Frisell's effects-laden loop de loops, apparently influenced by steel guitar, sometimes seem superfluous---well even more superfluous--next to the actual and no-b.s. steel guitar of Greg Leisz. On well, I cna listen around him, and he can bear down and knows, as they all do, not to gild the already gilded "Ay Amor," or fuck aronnd with "Monk's Mood, " for instance. Current fave is "Anthem" (by L.Cohen), which, despite its title, is pretty down to earth and grabbed me right away. Lloyd is not the most distinctive soloist, but he knows when just to shade and inflect this and curve around that, rather than bring on thee groovy noodles (although there's some of those, not too many)
― dow, Monday, 14 June 2021 23:07 (three years ago) link
Tim Daisy has really been killing it this year, like Zorn-level release schedule, it's almost too much. Those Ikue Morie duets are one the best releases.
― change display name (Jordan), Tuesday, 15 June 2021 14:55 (two years ago) link
I do like those recent Charles Lloyd records, and went in on them earlier this year, thanks! I'll have to go back to that one.
― change display name (Jordan), Tuesday, 15 June 2021 14:56 (two years ago) link
Interviewed Anthony Braxton for my podcast this morning. It went great. (We didn't talk about politics.) The episode will be out next Friday.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Tuesday, 15 June 2021 17:20 (two years ago) link
Looking fwd to that. re the interview you linked, I agree with him to an extent, but if he's going to talk about it at all, better to put in context of how systemic racism, and other forces that incl. divide and conquer, screw w perspectives. And harping on the Simon and Garfunkel advocacy don't help, in terms of coming off like a contrarian. I once some some festival footage where he was talking about Beefheart and Hendrix, saying he'd never met a musician who didn't like them---maybe he doesn't want to be that hipster-typical anymore? Read an article, maybe in Musician, that tagged him as being tagged as too out for the out---at another festival: "Hey, guys!" AEC: "Oh, you're here too, huh." But what he says in the linked interview about being a trainspotter as a kid, not being able to socialize conventionally, may have always affected him to some extent, like he seems eager but off-kilter in the interview, articulate, but yeah, if you're going to get into that stuff at all, you can't be hasty.
Speaking of Lloyd, when we were talking about him way up this thread, or last year's, I linked what was then the only bandcamp freebie from his Manhattan Stories: two mid-60s NYC concerts, with Ron Carter, Gabor Szabo, and Pete LaRoca. Now the other tracks are free-streaming too, and I sure hope they're anywhere near as good as the aforementioned 17:49 opener, "Sweet Georgia Bright" (sporting a video, even).
Ah, 1965: The Judson Hall recording comes from the archives of Resonance founder George Klabin, whose trove has previously yielded treasures from Bill Evans and Jimmy Giuffre. The Slugs' performances were recorded by Bjorn von Schlebrugge, who accompanied Lloyd to his Manhattan gigs.https://charleslloyd.bandcamp.com/
― dow, Wednesday, 16 June 2021 02:05 (two years ago) link
That Grammy interview felt like clickbait tbh. Not much on the music either. If I was being generous, I'd say that the interviewer just doesn't understand systemic racism or structural analysis, but I think an anti BLM/CRT agenda comes through pretty clearly. The framing makes some of Braxton's comments look more reactionary than they are. There was nothing in Braxton's comments that supported the editorialising about BLM being an "insidious separatist movement". Braxton has always resisted reductive categories or received ideas of what he as a black musician should be about, so I can understand why he'd be critical of separatist or nationalist movements, but it's not clear that's what he thinks BLM is - that's all on the journalist. Braxton took the question about racial essentialism in good faith, but I'm not sure it was presented as such given the overall line being pushed, i.e. the implication that BLM and CRT are essentialist or separatist. Braxton certainly wants to talk up America, but I don't think anyone could seriously mistake his liberal patriotism for MAGA.
I don't think there's anything contrarian about his advocacy of S&G - he's always embraced a wide range of music and Simon's writing is a pretty neat fit into an extended Great America Songbook. The Latin shuffle Alex Hawkins puts under Bridge Over Troubled Water is refreshing after decades of over-earnest readings, while Old Friends, with Braxton's almost microtonal pitching, is genuinely moving.
― Poor.Old.Tired.Horse. (Stew), Wednesday, 16 June 2021 11:43 (two years ago) link
Agree with all of this. No need to be generous, either. I follow the writer on Twitter and he's definitely a conservative — not a MAGA psycho, but the kind of asshole who thinks "cancel culture" and "virtue signaling" are real things. Between that and the hyperbole young music journalists are addicted to (Julian Lage is the best guitarist of the decade!), he's pretty annoying. And I feel like he kinda poisoned the well w/r/t Braxton, for other writers. After that interview was published, it took me two weeks to get mine re-scheduled.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Wednesday, 16 June 2021 12:19 (two years ago) link
That's interesting. My interview took place a few days before the Grammy piece was published. He talked about being a "proud American", which in retrospect could be seen as an attempt to set things straight. Perhaps I'd have responded differently if the interview had been done after the Grammy one was published, but I didn't pursue that line at the time because it came across as "we're not all right wing assholes and there are things about America worth celebrating", which is fair enough. As Graham Lock's Forces In Motion shows, Braxton has nuanced and insightful things to say about racial politics, particularly in the contexts of jazz and classical music. It would be interesting to sit down and engage with Braxton on today's politics, but a white conservative is definitely not the best person for the job.
Tbf to younger journalists, there are structural reasons for the hyperbole and clickbait. Not that it's anything particularly new - I grew up with the UK music press telling me Oasis were genius and jazz didn't exist. Thank goodness for The Wire and the internet!
― Poor.Old.Tired.Horse. (Stew), Wednesday, 16 June 2021 13:02 (two years ago) link
Nothing wrong with him liking whatever music, and if he can find something fresh, maybe revelatory, like Charlie Parker with "Cherokee," Coltrane with "My Favorite Things," that's great, but like I said, talking about them (and no other specific artists) in the context of that interview/framing device, struck me as seeming more ocntrarian, but no, certainly not some black MAGA head, it's just that, if you're gonna talk about *black* separatists (or the ones you see that way), better not leave out the white ones--and who knows, maybe he didn't, maybe that writer edited the transcript for his own pruposes---but, however it came about, that's how it looked--certainly not like Kanye or Qassandra though.
― dow, Wednesday, 16 June 2021 17:37 (two years ago) link
His comments were fine imo. A lot of intelligent and progressive-minded people have reservations about critical race theory or cancel culture, or like Simon & Garfunkel. People don't need to contextualize everything they say.
― Sequel to Sadness (Sund4r), Thursday, 17 June 2021 11:56 (two years ago) link
75 Dollar Bill's live ateliers claus, out this year, starts with tracks from a 2016 show, right after the election: Chen says he's pissed with himself because he didn't see it coming, but takes out his frustrations in acerbic, swirling, African-influenced folk-rock-jazz, steadfast and developmental (sometimes sounding like two guitars), while Brown's found crate is very supportive. Later, in 2019, Chen also plays the lower register of soprano sax, while Andrew L.'s wide-ranging contrabass arco and Brown's "homemade horns" join in. One of their most consistent collections, https://75dollarbill.bandcamp.com/album/live-ateliers-claus
― dow, Thursday, 17 June 2021 16:36 (two years ago) link
This piece clarifies things a little. He finds certain aspects of today's social justice movements divisive, but as I expected, this comes from his own experience of being denounced as not black enough during the height of black power. I might not agree with everything he's saying, but I can respect his viewpoint and understand where he's coming from. As it happens, I don't think Braxton would necessarily have an issue with CRT per se - his comments on the racial politics of sweat in jazz photography, for example, fits right in with it. https://www.npr.org/2021/06/17/998656406/jazz-elder-statesman-anthony-braxton-continues-to-defy-expectations?t=1623948810962
― Poor.Old.Tired.Horse. (Stew), Thursday, 17 June 2021 17:00 (two years ago) link
He definitely mentioned critical race theory twice in a negative light in the Grammy interview but idk maybe there are interpretations of it he would agree with.
― Sequel to Sadness (Sund4r), Thursday, 17 June 2021 17:03 (two years ago) link
I started listening to 12 Comp (ZIM) 2017 and was thinking it sounded great - then noticed it consists of 12 compositions, each one between 40 to 73 minutes in length! So that's two mammoth sets he's dropping!
― Sequel to Sadness (Sund4r), Thursday, 17 June 2021 17:17 (two years ago) link
Yeah, there's no getting around the comment about CRT being "far out" but I suppose the question is what he thinks it is. One of these things that would need to be unpacked carefully - which isn't something that conservative Grammy kid is interested in.
― Poor.Old.Tired.Horse. (Stew), Thursday, 17 June 2021 17:24 (two years ago) link
Anyway, both box sets are wonderful and it was a joy to go deep on them with him. https://thequietus.com/articles/30084-anthony-braxton-interview
― Poor.Old.Tired.Horse. (Stew), Thursday, 17 June 2021 17:26 (two years ago) link
He taught at Wesleyan for over 20 years; I imagine he's not just basing his opinion on Youtube but it's true that it wasn't probed in depth in that interview. Will read your piece.
― Sequel to Sadness (Sund4r), Thursday, 17 June 2021 17:31 (two years ago) link
Sure - I wasn't suggesting he was. I guess it could be said he's trying to get beyond the broader campus battle lines.
― Poor.Old.Tired.Horse. (Stew), Thursday, 17 June 2021 17:48 (two years ago) link