Multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor, Anthony Braxton, was born in Chicago in 1945. He joined the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians in 1966 and has worked with everyone from George Lewis and Marilyn Crispell to Muhal Richard Abrams and Chick Corea. In 1994 he was awarded a MacArthur genius grant and in 2014 he was named a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the arts.

Due to Braxton’s prolificness and agile movements between genres, there are a number of ways this playlist could have been organized. One way to consider his work is by its instrumentation: solo, small group, and ensemble/orchestral pieces. Another could be by style: avant-garde (“Birth and Rebirth”), film scores (“Eugene”), marching band (“Creative Orchestra – Koln 1978 (Live)”) and traditional (“In the Tradition” Volumes 1 and 2).

I have decided on a more arbitrary organization that allows for extended listening. I have tried to break up the difficult to hear with the easy listening, putting together songs that draw out interesting aspects of one another without overwhelming the ear.

In addition to the playlist, here is a link to the B-side of a wonderful album with Roscoe Michell that is not on Spotify, but is truly important to include in this examination of Braxton's work.

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“People keep asking certain questions about Anthony Braxton, questions such as what does he think he is doing?,” Robert Palmer of the New York Times writes in the liner notes to “Five Pieces” (1975). This orgy is an examination of what exactly he is doing. Below you will find some quotes that might confuse or enlighten you in the journey to find an answer. Feel free to pursue them before, during, or after listening.

I have always felt when describing Braxton's song names on air that I was imposing my perception of the shapes onto you. So, here you can have your organic reaction to his pictorial naming style

“The diagrams have to do with the implications of what structural approach was taken, and also with vibrational flows.” - Braxton

“For creativity, as understood through the progressional thrust of world culture, can be viewed as activity (doing) that aligns us ( on either an individual or cultural level) to the greater cosmic realness of being on this planet – having to do with helping us experience this sector in space (the universe)- in spiritual and vibrational terms, while also serving as a cosmic connector to those forces which reveal what this experience (living) could mean in its most positive state (if ‘positive’ is the desired zone)." – Braxton – “For Trio” (1978)

“As a youngster his favourite listening was the rock & roll of the fifties – The Flamingos, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, but suddenly one day he heard a respond by pianist Ahmad Jamal (“At the Pershing”) which changed his whole view on music.” – Ib Skovgaard 1976 “In the tradition volume 2”

“Not only has the man been known to wear cardigan sweaters, smoke a pipe, and play chess; he is as interested in composing as in improvising. If pressed, he will actually admit, “Yes, I am involved in notated music.” But, the detractors protest, black saxophonists from the South Side of Chicago are supposed to wear tattered overcoats, smoke cigarettes or controlled substances, and play poker not chess.” – Palmer “Five Pieces” (1975)

For more thoughts from his contemporaries: https://www.npr.org/sections/ablogsupreme/2010/06/24/128079453/why-we-love-anthony-braxton

Listen to the Anthony Braxton orgy here.

//This online orgy was created by Iris Feldman '20, who DJs the show Tiny Jazz. Jazz airs Mondays-Fridays 5am-10am EST.