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Anthony Braxton

Ever since I read the article about him in Wire Magazine a few years back, I knew I'd eventually purchase a few of Braxton's recordings, but didn't do it immediately. Not even the infamous gig with Wolf Eyes at the 2005 Victoriaville, Quebec festival convinced me to go ahead (story goes, Braxton heard Wolf Eyes' gig, loved it, bought everything they had for sale then and wound up playing a set with them which was later released on Victo Records - he was apparently asked whether he'd like to play Stabbed In The Face or Black Vomit and proudly chose the latter). It must be said that this artist's output is incredibly huge and overwhelming so a Braxton newbie like me can easily be discouraged to even venture into his discography (where to start!?). I eventually wound up buying one of his albums on CD, a reissue of his self-titled BYG Record/Actuel recording when I found it used in a record shop in downtown Montreal (I went on a spending spree that day, centered on jazz recordings; I simply don't have enough jazz albums so I thought I'd take care of the situation then and there).

Braxton's work is obviously based in free-jazz but is at times so complex and influenced by contemporary composers like Karlheinz Stockhausen and John Cage that he becomes impossible to accurately describe and pinpoint in a particular genre (some apparently are convinced it isn't jazz at all). Anyone into avant-garde music, free-jazz (fans of Sun Ra, Ayler, Sanders and the likes take note; the approach might be different, but the originality is undeniable). On more experimental numbers, Braxton's work even reminds me of some of the works by free-noise mongers The No-Neck Blues Band. I'm still just dabbing in this man's work, but I will eventually venture further and add more albums as I discover just how varied his recorded output is said to be.

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