Reed Masters
* Anthony Braxton & Evan Parker: IV (6.5 mb) | Braxton_+_Parker_MP3 (69.0 mb) | Braxton_+_Parker_Flac (190.0 mb)
From Live At Weiler Concert Hall : June 02nd, 1994 : New York City, NY
What happens when two masters of the saxophone meet and play music together? Do you even need to ask? A MacArthur “Genius”, Anthony Braxton has played, in his extremely idiosyncratic fashion, through over 100 albums. Currently a professor at Wesleyan University, Anthony Braxton is an exception to that old adage, “Those that can’t do, teach.”
Braxton’s music is difficult to categorize, and because of this, he likes to reference his works (and the works of his collaborators and students) as simply “creative music.” He has claimed in numerous interviews that he is not a jazz musician, though many of his works have been jazz and improvisation oriented, and he has released many albums of jazz standards. In addition to these, Braxton has released an increasing number of works for large-scale orchestras, including two opera cycles.
Braxton’s music is highly theoretical and mystically influenced, and he is the author of multiple volumes explaining his theories and pieces—such as the philosophical three-volume Triaxium Writings and the five-volume Composition Notes, both published by Frog Peak Music. While his compositions and improvisations can be characterized as avant garde, many of his pieces have a swing feel and rhythmic angularity that are overtly indebted to Charlie Parker and the Bebop tradition. (Wikipedia)
No slouch himself, Evan Parker is a similarly incredible saxophone player. Hailing from Great Britain, Evan Parker assimilated the greats of American jazz players like John Coltrane and Albert Ayler, while retaining his own identifiable sound. His constant experimentation with methods and equipment
His music of the 1960s and 1970s is harsh, raw and unsettling, involving fluttering, swirling lines that have shape rather than tangible melodic content; sometimes he makes use of pure sound in a manner that recalls Steve Lacy’s more radical 1970s recordings or the work of some AACM members. He began to develop methods of rapidly layering harmonics and false notes to create dense contrapuntal weaves; these involved experiments with plastic reeds, circular breathing and rapid tonguing which initially were so intense that he would find blood dripping onto the floor from the saxophone. (Wikipedia)
Really though, this is an amazing concert, a true meeting of equals. Their saxophones (Anthony Braxton on various reeds and Evan Parker on tenor/soprano) intertwining and communicating at the most intimate of levels.
