Cecil Taylor and Anthony Braxton Together, then Ornette

[AllenLowe]

ditto, wish I was there; Braxton is to me such a completx musician and so changeable, if in sometimes subtle ways - also, personally very open and inquisitive -

I'm supposed to go down and see him next month in Connecticut; we've been emailing and lunch is a possibility; for years I've been trying to pin him down for a project. Great guy but elusive - will see what happens -

[sidewinder]

p.s. Thinking about it, Braxton at the RFH has been responsible for two of my 'deepest' musical experiences ever - Quintet (London) 2004 was recorded live at the London Jazz Festival (although even that show, which featured Dixon/Taylor/Oxley in the second half, didn't quite scale these heights!). Peculiar how one can be so emotionally indebted to someone one's never even met; but I guess that's music!

Didn't Leo Records issue that Braxton 2004 (which I missed) - in which case maybe they can do the Taylor/Braxton on CD?

I think the Taylor/Braxton lasted just less than 2 hours total (they came on around 8.30 I think) so - yes - 'Jazz On 3' are likely to cut some of it.

I have to say - a couple of days after the event now - that Braxton's playing on soprano was some of the greatest playing on that instrument I have ever heard.

As for Polar Bear it's the second or third time I have seen them and the Sunday show was their best of these I think (I didn't like their TV appearance with Jools Holland BTW). Definitely a first for the 'playing' of a rubber balloon at a jazz gig I have been at.

Edited July 10, 2007 by sidewinder

[sidewinder]

Anyone go to the Ornette show?

[Alexander Hawkins]

Anyone go to the Ornette show?

My next question! I was on a gig, so didn't catch it, although am totally intrigued by the acoustic/electric twin bass team. I heard him last year at the Barbican with the two acoustics, and it was wonderful.

I believe it wasn't Polar Bear but another of Seb Rochford's groups, Acoustic Ladyland, which was on Jools Holland's show. I agree - I was exceedingly disappointed by this. It totally beats me how these guys are the darling of so much of the jazz press A lot of the material strikes me as incredibly naive and obvious, the playing very correct and mannered. No 'fire' whatesover to it IMHO. [Although I'll freely admit my jealousy at the amount of work they get!] I have friends whose opinion I really value who say that Rochford is a very fine player, but I don't believe I've heard this in any of his projects. The guy on electronics was completely pointless, for me. There are some astonishingly good electronics guys in London, and this guy was so far short of them for me it was a real shame.

Yeah - Braxton's soprano was really great, although of the smaller horns, it was the sopranino which really got me!

I would guess Leo would be the obvious label for it. I don't understand the economics of these things in the slightest, but it would be wonderful if they were to stretch to a 2-CD set to document the whole thing (which of course Leo often does with Braxton sets), although I still would imagine just the single, quartet CD to be more likely, perhaps?

[sidewinder]

I believe it wasn't Polar Bear but another of Seb Rochford's groups, Acoustic Ladyland, which was on Jools Holland's show.

Yes, you are right - it was Acoustic Ladyland - who got rave reviews at Cheltenham and Bath a few years back. Of the two groups, I think I prefer the 'Polar Bear'.

I would have like to have gone to last night's Ornette gig but logistics ruled against it. Did see Ornette's gig with Denardo and the two acoustic bassists a couple of years ago at Cheltenham though.

Edited July 10, 2007 by sidewinder

[Alexander Hawkins]

I just heard that apparently it was three basses last night...unbilled, Charnette Moffett on the gig too! Sounds fantastic!

[Lazaro Vega]

More reviews on Taylor/Braxton:

http://soundsandtexts.blogspot.com/2007/07...2007-cecil.html

And one including Ornette:

Taylor/Braxton/Coleman

4 stars Royal Festival Hall, London

John Fordham

Wednesday July 11, 2007

Guardian

The refurbished Royal Festival Hall got its first taste of jazz

courtesy of Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor, two vigorously

surviving founding fathers of the explosive 1960s avant garde. Alto

saxophonist Coleman is 77 now, and pianist Taylor 78, but neither man

is any nearer to planning a show's precise course, let alone

showcasing a "legacy". Taylor was exploring a first-time partnership

with the sax virtuoso and composer Anthony Braxton, while Coleman

(whose gait is slower, but whose sound still cuts through a room like

a flame) played the following night with a typically idiosyncratic

lineup - him, his son Denardo on drums and three bass players. Both

shows brought standing ovations.

After a prologue of reciting his vivid sound-poetry and rattling

shakers offstage, Taylor began in duo with his empathetic

percussionist Tony Oxley. The famous rapid-fire chords and lightning-

bolt treble clusters still surfaced in bursts, but as rejoinders to

fluid, rippling, even tender treble melodies. Bassist William Parker

then played an unaccompanied bowed solo that sounded like a choir of

ghostly voices.

The rest of the evening had Taylor, Parker, Oxley and multi-saxist

Anthony Braxton on a single, seamless, mostly improvised jam, full of

dynamic contrasts and idiosyncratic, on-the-fly logic. Taylor

scrambled inside the piano lid while Braxton played a single,

quavering, circular-breathed note. Braxton played raucous, guttural

alto-sax lines while the band unleashed a steady, rolling thunder.

Close to the finish, Oxley launched a cymbal feel that was almost

swing, while the others ascended to a collective typhoon ended by

Taylor's peremptory, that's-it chords.

Coleman's gig was just as fast-moving, though with more references to

a skewed jazz time, and to funk. Bassist Charnett Moffett provided a

furious backdrop of fast jazzy walks and wailing electronics, while

Tony Falanga contributed a classically articulated counter-melody.

Falanga also quoted the Rite of Spring's opening passage, and Bach's

first cello suite, just for Coleman's mercurial alto to pick up the

themes and play with them. Several Coleman classics then followed,

including the anthemic free-funk melody from Dancing in Your Head,

and the Monkish blues Turnaround; there was also some exquisite slow

ballad playing, and an infectiously rocking groover close to the end.

Taylor and Coleman are unequivocally still there for the music,

however it turns out. The audiences sensed they were present as jazz

history was being celebrated - but still being made, too.

Having been to both gigs i would personally give the Taylor/Braxton

one 5 stars and the Coleman one 4 stars

[juergen]

I just heard that apparently it was three basses last night...unbilled, Charnette Moffett on the gig too! Sounds fantastic!

Ornette Coleman alto saxophone, trumpet, violin

Tony Falanga bass

Charnett Moffet piccolo bass, distortion pedals

Al McDowell electric-bass

Denardo Coleman drums

[Chalupa]

One of the bloggers at C#9 had this to say about the show.....

There had been speculation in some quarters about whether oxley would play his customary percussion solo, thus offering the spectacle of taylor and braxton standing around twiddling their thumbs (or more likely wandering on and off), so there must have been a few sinking hearts when the lights went down and oxley shuffled slowly onstage alone - though he wasn't quite alone, since ct's disembodied voice floated over the p.a. by way of accompaniment... and then the man himself was there too, dancing rather hesitantly to the piano. taylor and oxley began to duet.

i must admit to being pretty distracted at this point - loose plans to meet up with a couple of people hadn't come off, i knew that i had to leave immediately after the concert and was torn between agitatedly checking the time, wondering how long i was going to have to wait for my main man mr b to take the stage, and delighting in the chance to see taylor work the keyboard (something i didn't really get the chance to do when i saw him in 2004)... i kept flipping between the two moods, but basically got more and more impatient as the duet went on. ct turned over his sheet music after five minutes or so, and a new set of materials was joined; after about fifteen minutes total, he turned again, didn't like what he found and left everyone (including oxley) dangling while he flicked back and forth through his papers until finally he found something which suited his mood... by this time i was having serious trouble staying still in my seat, i have to confess. but i paid enough attention to enjoy the view into taylor's playing; oxley, if i'm honest, seemed at times to be on autopilot, or suspiciously close to it: for much of the duet sequence (three explorations totalling maybe 20-25 mins) he looked to be playing with his wrists alone, and although he responded very quickly to ct's ideas, even this could be automatic for a musician of oxley's advanced skills and vast experience: i'm not convinced he was truly interacting, but then i was not really in the best frame of mind to judge.

finally the two left the stage to lots of hearty applause...

...and william parker ambled on...

...and began to play a solo.

part of me wanted to start tearing out hair at this point... awful visions of a set consisting entirely of solos and duets, culminating in the four joining up for a rip through "donna lee" at the end, began forming in my overheated brain... every few moments i would force my attention back to parker's highly-energetic performance, enjoying the chance to watch this master at work (of the four, parker was the only player i had not seen live before) - hell, i love bass solos, i even have a few solo bass albums, including parker's (c/o inconstant sol)... but the FRUSTRATION...

... and then the relief when parker's applause was over and all four players took the stage ) i almost passed out.

what followed was well and truly worth the wait. as parker got ready, some electronics were audible - i never did find out who was controlling these, but i suppose it was parker - not intrusively audible, just there, creating the bottom layer of a foundation on which the four immediately began to build. it was as if they all just said fuck it, we're going for it, and in order to let things happen, they promptly began whipping up an instant storm of far-out sounds, a maelstrom out of which all kinds of things might suddenly appear: oxley played immediately with more physical engagement, parker began at once to attack his bass with two bows, taylor started to play the strings inside the piano... and braxton started out on contrabass clarinet, which made my trip for me right there and then - i had never expected to see and hear him play this beast live..!

you must understand that some of the actual music played was a bit of a blur (despite my now being fully focussed on it) - i knew it was being recorded for broadcast so was happy to immerse myself in the performance without trying to take in all the details of the music, which (inevitably) were many - i had the luxury of knowing that i will be able to revisit the sounds as often as i like, and will be able to match them up with the images in my memory. braxton changed to the smaller horns in due course, returning more than once to sopranino, and with one brief exception (where his alto was more or less drowned out for some time), everything he played cut cleanly through... the storm abated, and was then summoned again... taylor seemed delighted to be playing (in stark contrast to 2004, when - having to follow braxton's stunning quintet set - he had seemed introverted and sulky); and here is the alchemy, the magic, because although none of the four did anything i haven't heard before, together they created something quite wonderful. the rapturous applause at the end was as genuine as taylor's handshake with braxton: that was something special.

we wanted more... we asked for it, we waited for it, but we weren't gonna get it and i made a sharp exit as soon as the lights came up. BUT i can honestly say that the images of the performance will remain vivid for a long time! glad i went? worth the build-up? oh yes, and the rest... i'm already impatient to hear the music again...

[kh1958]

I just heard that apparently it was three basses last night...unbilled, Charnette Moffett on the gig too! Sounds fantastic!

Ornette Coleman alto saxophone, trumpet, violin

Tony Falanga bass

Charnett Moffet piccolo bass, distortion pedals

Al McDowell electric-bass

Denardo Coleman drums

I hope they recorded the concert.

[AllenLowe]

I congratulate them on refusing to do an encore - not kidding around. I think encores are:

1) redundant

2) anti-artistic

3) destructive of performance pace and rhythm

4) bad bad bad

glad to hear it was a memorable night - and trust me, they did you a favor by leaving the stage when they did -

asking for an encore is like watching a play and than asking the actors to come out afterwards and do another scene, from whatever play they feel like -

just my opinion -

Edited July 13, 2007 by AllenLowe

[fent99]

on BBC tonight

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/jazzon3/pip/6ir82/

[relyles]

I congratulate them on refusing to do an encore - not kidding around. I think encores are:

1) redundant

2) anti-artistic

3) destructive of performance pace and rhythm

4) bad bad bad

glad to hear it was a memorable night - and trust me, they did you a favor by leaving the stage when they did -

asking for an encore is like watching a play and than asking the actors to come out afterwards and do another scene, from whatever play they feel like -

just my opinion -

Interesting opinion and I don't necessarily disagree, but often it seems to many many artists plan on the encore regardless of whether the audience is enthusiastically requesting one. You can usually tell when they get up leave the stage, but basically kind of linger close by and then come back on two minutes later and start another tune without any of that "what should we play" conversation amongst themselve. I get the sense there are some artists at there that would get hurt feelings if the audience does not request the. For me, they are not necessary at all.

[clifford_thornton]

I don't like encores either. I'd rather be left wanting "more" than "less."

[sidewinder]

I congratulate them on refusing to do an encore - not kidding around. I think encores are:

1) redundant

2) anti-artistic

3) destructive of performance pace and rhythm

4) bad bad bad

glad to hear it was a memorable night - and trust me, they did you a favor by leaving the stage when they did -

asking for an encore is like watching a play and than asking the actors to come out afterwards and do another scene, from whatever play they feel like -

just my opinion -

I'm inclined to agree in this instance. What they played in the last 5 minutes was un-toppable. Fitting point to end it.

[sidewinder]

The lineup for tonight's BBC performance:

"Cecil Taylor Quartet featuring Anthony Braxton, recorded in concert at the Royal Festival Hall, London on Sunday 8th June 2007

Line-up:

Cecil Taylor - piano

William Parker - double bass

Tony Oxley - drums

Anthony Braxton - contrabass clarinet, alto sax, soprano sax, sopranino sax

Set list:

Duet - Cecil Taylor / Tony Oxley

Quartet - Cecil Taylor / William Parker / Tony Oxley / Anthony Braxton"

15 minutes to go..

Edited July 13, 2007 by sidewinder

[sidewinder]

First impressions listening to this are that Braxton's alto sounds much more coherent and all-round than during the concert. The stage mikes obviously didn't pick it up very well (sounded a bit muffled at the time).

Those effects that William Parker got out of the bass are just extraordinary..

Edited July 13, 2007 by sidewinder

[ep1str0phy]

I don't like encores either. I'd rather be left wanting "more" than "less."

To be fair, when the performers are operating at a certain caliber, more might still be too little... but I absolutely respect the "no encores" perspective. I don't always agree, but it sometimes seems appropriate.

[sidewinder]

The Taylor/Braxton is up on 'dime'.

[Alexander Hawkins]

I congratulate them on refusing to do an encore - not kidding around. I think encores are:

1) redundant

2) anti-artistic

3) destructive of performance pace and rhythm

4) bad bad bad

glad to hear it was a memorable night - and trust me, they did you a favor by leaving the stage when they did -

asking for an encore is like watching a play and than asking the actors to come out afterwards and do another scene, from whatever play they feel like -

just my opinion -

I'm inclined to agree in this instance. What they played in the last 5 minutes was un-toppable. Fitting point to end it.

I agree; goodness only knows what would have followed that ending, musically!

[clifford_thornton]

"A Bicycle Built for Two" perhaps?

[sidewinder]

Just listening again to the William Parker bass solo. Even more amazing when heard again. A dark and deep solo, for sure.

[Lazaro Vega]

So the Dime boot is the whole concert? I'd heard the BBC broadcast was a truncated version of the concert.....

[relyles]

So the Dime boot is the whole concert? I'd heard the BBC broadcast was a truncated version of the concert.....

The first torrent was the BBC broadcast. Somone subsequently uploaded an audience recording of the entire performance.

[AllenLowe]

I congratulate them on refusing to do an encore - not kidding around. I think encores are:

1) redundant

2) anti-artistic

3) destructive of performance pace and rhythm

4) bad bad bad

glad to hear it was a memorable night - and trust me, they did you a favor by leaving the stage when they did -

asking for an encore is like watching a play and than asking the actors to come out afterwards and do another scene, from whatever play they feel like -

just my opinion -

(the preceding was an encore posting, by demand)