For over half a century, the American Anthony Braxton—a composer, multi-instrumentalist, music theorist, university professor, mentor, and visionary—has been one of the key figures in avant-garde contemporary music. Braxton himself describes his music as "creative music," drawing inspiration from jazz, European New Music (Schönberg, Stockhausen, and Xenakis are among the composers who influenced him), and music from various world cultures. In other words, his work uniquely oscillates between composition and improvisation. His body of work includes around 700 compositions, over 200 albums, and a dozen theoretical books.
Anthony Braxton is one of the most striking and brilliant figures in contemporary jazz. As a member of the Creative Construction Company (with violinist Leroy Jenkins and trumpeter Leo Smith) and the quartet Circle (with Chick Corea, Dave Holland, and Barry Altschul—whose double album Circle. Paris Concert is a landmark of contemporary jazz), with his groundbreaking solo alto saxophone album For Alto (1968), his duo with drummer Max Roach, Birth and Rebirth (1978), and especially his own ensembles and large formations, he set out to "redefine the space of music" (Braxton). In doing so, he gave decisive impetus to the development of jazz, making him a star of the avant-garde in the 1970s, with a recording contract from a major label.
Born in 1945 in the South Side, an African-American neighborhood of Chicago, Braxton was always a bit of an outsider, not doing what everyone else did. While the boys in his neighborhood hung out and goofed around, he stayed home pondering chess games or practicing the saxophone. Later, he became a leading figure in the Chicago musicians' organization AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians), a mutual aid network for many African-American musicians in Chicago's new jazz scene. He then led his own formations for years, including musicians like George Lewis, John Lindberg, Marilyn Crispell, Gerry Hemingway, Kenny Wheeler, Dave Holland, Barry Altschul, Mark Dresser, Ray Anderson, and Mark Helias. In the mid-1980s, Braxton settled down a bit by accepting a teaching position at Mills College at the University of California, Berkeley. He was a tenured professor at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, for many years. From his "school" emerged musicians of the younger generation, such as Taylor Ho Bynum (trumpet), Aaron Siegel (percussion), Jay Rozen (tuba), Jessica Pavone (violin, viola, flute), and Mary Halvorson (guitar).
I’ve seen Anthony Braxton in concert many times: the first time at the Moers Jazz Festival (1976) in a duo with George Lewis (trombone)—I still remember it vividly—the last time in November 2021 in Ulm with his Diamond Curtain Wall Trio (with the incredible Portuguese trumpeter Susanna Santos Silva; see the photos).
Just a few days ago, on June 4, this exceptional figure celebrated his 80th birthday. Congratulations!
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