Anthony Braxton’s music is theatrical in nature. It’s also serious and very funny.
But it doesn’t happen with enough frequency for Braxton’s stature, and it’s a glaring omission across the country. More on that later, but for starters, seasoned practitioners of his work have come together to explore some of his most overlooked productions this weekend at the Brick Theater in Brooklyn. But it should be worthy of a big event.
On Thursday night at The Brick, the grumpy troupe Experiments in Opera delivered a maddening debut performance that lives up to its name. “Anthony Braxton Theater Improvisation” The hour long show was a lot of fun. And the small, cozy venue was understandably full. The service will continue until Saturday, so grab as many seats as possible.
Even those unable to attend will be able to delve into this aspect of his music thanks to Braxton’s tenacity in documenting the project. Given the way in which it offers a new lens to a corner of Braxton’s more conceptual side, this experimental show deserves attention and perhaps even a record.
This evening is based on works 279-283 from the Braxton catalog. A comedy piece written for a narrator and an improviser. Back in 2000, Braxton, who plays various saxophones and clarinets, recorded some of these works with his comedian Alex Horwitz, a young stand-up.
In Opus 282, the narrator is asked to read the day’s newspaper (optionally crumple the newspaper for a tonal effect) while the instrumentalists improvise. No. 281 runs bebop-esque phrases beneath one-liners and observant humor.
But just two people can make the recording less appealing. The Experiment Show maintains a higher energy, with each performance featuring three of her artists. Another scene partner and soprano singer (Kamala Sankaram, veteran Braxton’s opera recording); and instrumentalists (trumpeter Nate Woolley made a memorable appearance on Thursday) large braxton ensemble in the meantime 2010s).
Before the show, saxophonist James Faye, who plays on Friday’s set, told me that Opus 279 was essentially a compilation of jokes. The song was not included on Braxton’s 2000 recording with Horwitz, but was featured on the Experiment show.
Wearing a top hat, Reese walked among the audience and asked some to pick a card out of the hat.Cards may contain any of the Braxtons “language music” Organized prompts (e.g., “Intervalric Forming”) combined with joke genres (e.g., “Republican/Democrat Jokes”) for configuration number 279.
While Woolley and Sankaram leaped into blaring intervals, Reese joked in the fashion of one-liner king Henny Youngman (whom Braxton dedicated composition 282 to). I roughly transcribed one of his jokes as follows: “Why are Democrats always in favor of gun control?” Because they keep shooting themselves in the leg. ”
On the page, this may not seem like a big deal. But against the backdrop of a duet of wildly jumping figures, it all creates a dizzying novelty while at the same time reinvigorating vintage forms. A borscht belt has never sounded so lovely and weird.
Reese collaborated with Sankaram on an imaginative opera “Miranda,” I also made an improvisational landscape work in front of the stage with her. Some of their songs had less obvious connections to previously recorded Braxton work, but they had the right spirit, as did Woolley’s improvisations away from the horns. In the background of one scene between Reese and Sankaram, the trumpeter was sitting against a brick wall at the back of the stage. Lit by the penumbra of a spotlight aimed elsewhere, he coolly imitated smoking a cigarette in his kazoo.
since then Braxton writes “Every piece in my music system can be done simultaneously/instantaneously,” the troupe reveled in the possibilities. At one point, Woolley was enjoying his theme in the languid, bop-esque opening of Composition No. 23D from the album New York, Fall 1974.
Sankaram then moved on to the opera Trillium J, one of the fuller passages written for her in Braxton’s Opus No. 380. This opera was recorded in her 2014 and performed at Roulette in Brooklyn. In one scene, Sankaram plays the role of ‘Miss Scarlett’. She is “a helpless maiden who happens to own 400 nuclear weapons stockpile containers, not to mention chemical gas warfare options.”
Coloratura song, was it written for that line? That’s interesting.Full opera — available on Blu-ray as a paid download on Vimeo — The moments of humor that Sankaram truly sells are able to move quickly through orchestral intricacies. But when she brought it back in the maelstrom of improvisation on Thursday’s more intimate set, the song had new vigor.
All of this spoke to the unexplored potential of Braxton’s work. His catalog of works spanning more than half a century and his playing on reed instruments are rightly spoken of with reverence, as is his track record as a teacher. Wave after wave of notable players and composers. George E. Lewis and Mary Halverson, demonstrated his professional talent in his ensemble. Aaron Siegel, Executive Director of Experiments in Opera, is also the percussionist for these groups. In his opening remarks on Thursday, he acknowledged Braxton as one of the company’s original leaders.
Braxton is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a MacArthur Foundation grant, and an NEA Jazzmaster Award. Speaking to leaders of forward-thinking orchestras and opera companies, I’ve heard about their desire to program Braxton’s ambitious productions, works that bear the imprint of Bebop, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Hildegard von Bingen, and American ( off the record) you’ll hear it a lot. folk dance.
But it’s obviously hard to do. When the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang was a young man playing with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, I tried pushing Braxton’s orchestral music about his boss. No dice. Perhaps it’s because Braxton asks players to improvise rather than just pay attention to complex notated content.
So for now, we have to rely on smaller organizations like Experiments in Opera to find the right balance and bring Braxtonia right. And this week, they’re doing just that.
