... yes, in case anyone is wondering, i haven't disappeared off the face of the earth, have just been unusually busy in my day job of late, with not much time to myself, and too tired/frazzled to write much... also, the little link piece i had lined up, detailing the end of the week two posts and the start of "week three" (one single day with only two sessions), no longer looked relevant by the time i got round to thinking about posting it. somehow i thought i would be moving a lot faster than this! in the event it's been a bit of a slow drag... but then there are various reasons for that, most of which i'm not planning to go into here...
... one thing i do want to share with you: last week saw a rather special package arrive from the states, namely the complete published writings of anthony braxton (tri-axium writings 1-3, composition notes A-E). i mention this simply because once i start delving into those, this will inevitably mark the beginning of another new phase - in my studies of the man's work generally, and specifically in the braxtothon. although the composition notes only go up as far as the 119 series (the seventh book of solo pieces - * see comments), all of the albums and concerts i will be covering over the next few months at least (could be years, at this rate!) will be drawing on material which is detailed in these books - there's no way of avoiding it, once i get stuck into the man's own writings, i am bound to have a very different perspective on his work.
- the current phase will continue for just a little while longer - until after the berlin concert, to be specific. more to be said on the 1976 quartets very soon, before the next round of braxtothon sessions as such.
* * *
two late birthday presents also arrived at the weekend: the george lewis book, which i am really looking forward to reading, and new musical figurations: anthony braxton's cultural critique by ronald m. radano. this latter book, published in 1993 by the university of chicago press, never seems to get discussed or even mentioned... but it will get mentioned here, in due course!
7 comments:
the various solo books are a bit of a collector's nightmare - never mind a discographer's! the composition notes - and the catalogue of works in the back of *forces in motion* - list the 119 series as going up to 119h... yet the pisa 1982 solo concert (released last year on leo) includes 119j, and the willisau album (concert 2003, cd last year also) includes 119m..! alas, this is not the only anomaly to be found in the solo books... i am simply not going to worry about any of it ;-)
Radano's book is mentioned a few times by Lewis. I'd be interested to hear what you make of it. Mike Heffley's book is so unobtainable/expensive etc.
yes, i don't plan to shell out for heffley's book at that price... but i hope to have a copy one day! meantime, i'll let you know what i make of radano...
The British Library outpost at Boston Spa has two copies of the Heffley book. This almost certainly means it would be available through inter-library loan, a cheap and efficient service.
z, thanks for the tip, i might have to follow that one up... TWO copies?? how bizarre.
Radano's book covers Braxton's work from the perspective of a "cultural critique" -- no surprise, since that's what the title says. It's a good study and includes many angles and Braxton works not covered by Lock et al -- although it gets into critical studies jargon a bit, which can get annoying for those who like to read. One thing Braxton does *not* need is to be made more arcane.
djll
d, heh - that's doubtless true enough ;-) ...though having said that, some have levelled similar accusations at george lewis (none of them being the majority of people i know who have read the book and enjoyed it). what's radano's background - purely academic? i don't know anything about him other than what is (briefly) said inside the book.
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