Reframings (1)

 

In the wake of my wondering (aloud - so to speak) whether a fresh approach might not be needed to what I do around here, I found myself wanting to do some quicker posts, still containing some (...) analysis and contextual detail, but requiring less time, preparation and mental effort than usual. I have in mind to do a fairly brisk rundown of a couple of pieces which aren't written by B., but clearly influenced by him - pieces by younger composers in the manner of a tribute, or - I hesitate to use the word - homage*. 

- Have that in mind, yes, but this is not it: still, it's tangentially related, since it involves two projects of actual Braxwerks - repertoire** - and two pieces of news which are (in different ways) hot off the press, as it were...

1. I was very excited to learn (just this evening) that Steve Lehman - one of relatively few creative musicians whose work I make a concerted effort to follow, as it emerges - is about to drop an album entitled The Music of Anthony Braxton, at the end of February. A glance at the proposed cover art tells me right away that this involves Lehman's working rhythm section of drummer Damion Reid (bottom left) and bassist Matt Brewer (bottom right); a closer inspection was needed, to discover that the fourth player on this (live) date was tenor saxman Mark Turner - someone whose name meant nothing to me at first, admittedly. But, well, I looked him up; and if he's a figure I have not so much encountered and forgotten as simply skirted around (and quite possibly never heard at all), he has played with a lot of respected musicians, and put out plenty of stuff under his own leadership. It may well raise an eyebrow to see Turner described on the album's Bandcamp page as "one of the most influential jazz musicians of the past 30 years" (certainly we might wish to know who exactly has been influenced by him) - but that's the kind of ecstatic hype we've all seen before in promotional blurb, and we'll all see it again***. Knowing that Lehman wanted to undertake this project with him is enough of a vote of confidence for me. 

The album looks to be ever so slightly misleadingly-titled, given that its eight tracks include two originals, plus "Trinkle, Tinkle" by - come off it, you don't need me to tell you who wrote that masterpiece - in addition to five tracks of BraxRep, comprising seven of the maestro's pieces in all. But fuck it, this is no time to quibble: one of my favourite contemporary musicians is releasing a tribute to my actual favourite musician, and that most definitely qualifies as good news! Naturally, with just two tracks available to stream at present, it remains to be seen to what extent Lehman limited himself by concentrating on material from a pretty narrow period in B's vast oeuvre... but I find it hard to believe that I will end up too badly disappointed by this. In any case, I will buy it as soon as it comes out.

[I am not in any way exaggerating when I speak of making a concerted effort to follow Lehman's work, by the way. He has numerous projects on the go, and I try to keep up with all of them, as far as I know: looking at his Bandcamp, I can say at once that I own this and this and this and this and this on CD, among other past releases; and I am familiar with other albums of his besides. In this instance, at least some of the prevailing hype is remarkably close to being justified, in my opinion.]

2. I just ordered a copy of Concept Of Freedom, the experimental project jointly credited to B. and Duke Ellington, but masterminded - at least in part - by that man Roland Dahinden (much discussed in these pages over the last year or so). I have alluded to the album before, and it was conspicuously absent from my inadequate attempt to discuss the various renditions of Comp. 136 in the recorded canon; I have only heard short excerpts from it, and would not claim to understand precisely what it is or how it was conceived, but it has always looked intriguing, and really I have just been waiting for a copy to turn up from a UK-based seller at a reasonable price. That opportunity having now presented itself, I seized it, and I would hope that -if nothing else - the album proves useful in getting me a tiny bit closer to a proper analysis of Dahinden's Ensemble Montaigne (Bau 4) 2013 project, perpetually on my to-do list...

That's it! Quick in, quick out... no preparation, and relatively little in the way of distraction. I'm not saying all of my posts will be like this from now on - indeed, they won't be - but it's an idea for keeping things moving, anyway :)

* I detest using this word, since virtually everyone now seems to have adopted the pretentious pronunciation "homarzh", as if it were a French loan-word. It isn't: and for the record, anyone who wishes to pronounce it thus ought to be prepared to spell it hommage, since that is how the word is written in French. The word homage has existed separately in English for centuries - unlike words such as collage or garage or triage, all of which have simply been dragged-and-dropped from French in the modern era, and are pronounced accordingly. OK... rant over ;-)

** In the context of the blog, the term repertoire refers exclusively to ("covers" of) B's past compositions; sporadic examples of my writing about this subject can be found by skimming the titles of posts from the last couple of years.

*** No disrespect is intended to Mr Turner here. A casual look at his Wikipedia page proves that he has an extensive discography, and has worked with a lot of people over a sustained period. But I don't think it's too outrageous to suggest that if he were indeed "one of the most influential jazz musicians of the past 30 years", I wouldn't have had to look him up. Record labels and their hysterical hype... {tt}