ANTHONY BRAXTON'S GAMBIT

DE SINGEL International Arts Center - 05/06/2022

On Sunday, June 5th, the event "Anthony Braxton's Gambit" took place at DE SINGEL International Arts Center in Antwerp, featuring lectures, concerts, and an exhibition celebrating Anthony Braxton. This ambitious event originated from an initiative I undertook as part of my doctoral research. It was made possible with the assistance of the late Hugo De Craen and in collaboration with DE SINGEL, the Royal Conservatory Antwerp (RCA), and the Antwerp Research Institute for the Arts (ARIA). To realize this, I also secured a grant from the Flemish Research Foundation (FWO) and a contribution from the Inspiratum fund of Axel Vervoordt.


Early in my doctoral journey in the fall of 2020, I was in touch with the RCA to start a project centered around Anthony Braxton's Creative Orchestra compositions involving students from both classical and jazz departments. Simultaneously, there was interest from DE SINGEL International Arts Center to curate a program focusing on Braxton's work. I sent them an extensive concert program proposal highlighting Braxton as a composer, featuring key works from his vast yet often overlooked compositional oeuvre. My proposal consisted of three parts: (1) a concert showcasing works from his Creative Orchestra repertoire (performed by an orchestra of RCA students under my direction), (2) a concert featuring Ghost Trance Music repertoire (performed by the septet I had assembled as part of my research), and (3) a concert with Braxton himself in one of his yet-to-be-determined ensembles.


While the various partners were enthusiastic, finalizing the details, particularly with Braxton's management, proved challenging. A significant mediator in this regard was Hugo De Craen, former jazz programmer at DE SINGEL and personal friend of Braxton, who supported this project from the outset. Thanks in part to Hugo, who also conceived the event title,1 Chloë Herteleer of DE SINGEL, the RCA, and a contribution from the Inspiratum fund, the pieces came together in the spring of 2021. Braxton himself would be present with his saxophone quartet, accompanied by musicians James Fei, Ingrid Laubrock, and Chris Jonas. The date was set for June 4th, Braxton's 77th birthday, but ultimately had to be postponed by one day. Hugo De Craen, who eagerly anticipated this event, sadly, suddenly passed away in June 2021. The evening at DE SINGEL was therefore dedicated to him.


Meanwhile, I was in touch with Prof. Timo Hoyer, author of the book "Anthony Braxton: Creative Music." Hoyer had planned a conference in June 2020 at the Elb Philharmonie in Hamburg to commemorate Braxton's 75th birthday, which had to be canceled due to COVID-19. It seemed like an interesting avenue to revive this conference in conjunction with the event at DE SINGEL, and Hoyer agreed wholeheartedly. DE SINGEL and the KCA could host this conference but couldn't provide additional funding. I applied for additional funds from the FWO specifically for organizing this conference. The application was accepted, but the allocated funds proved insufficient to organize a full-fledged two-day international conference. However, it did allow me to organize lectures in conjunction with the extensive concert evening, as well as an exhibition on Braxton's work.

The eventual event "Anthony Braxton's Gambit" thus comprised three parts: an exhibition, a series of lectures, and a three-part concert evening.2 You can find the announcement on the DE SINGEL website here. I wrote the text for the accompanying program booklet (in Dutch), which you can download here on the left. This program booklet also includes a tribute to Hugo De Craen written by Jerry Aerts, former director of DE SINGEL. In what follows, I will give a more detailed overview of the different sections.

Exhibition (entrance hall DE SINGEL)


My aim in curating this small exhibition was to shed light on lesser known aspects of Braxton's extensive body of work with a specific focus on his use of graphic notation. It was accompanied by the following text:


This exhibition sheds light on an overlooked aspect of Anthony Braxton's oeuvre, namely the graphic notation he frequently employed in his scores. This was already evident in his early compositions such as Composition No. 10 (for solo piano) from 1969 and Composition No. 76 (for trio) from 1977. In the latter, he also introduced colors into his notation for the first time. In his more recent compositional systems, starting with Ghost Trance Music in the 1990s, this extended notation, as Braxton himself calls it, occupies an increasingly prominent place. For instance, there's the fully graphically notated Falling River Music, almost like small artworks in themselves. Or the layered scores of Echo Echo Mirror House Music, based on maps, where additional layers of graphic notation can be added to the score on transparent sheets. Finally, there's ZIM music, which transitions from traditional notation into various colorful lines and shapes. From the outset, Braxton always gave his compositions a graphic title. These titles also evolved throughout his career into elaborate and colorful visual collages, some of which are on display here.


Additionally, I showcased excerpts from Braxton's three-volume Tri-Axium Writings and the five-volume Composition Notes. Lastly, I included a documentary I had produced, which captured the rehearsal process of one of his Ghost Trance Music compositions, along with a selection of photographs from Braxton's illustrious career as a musician.


The exhibition was presented as follows:


  • Original pieces presented under a glass display cabinet (click the images below to expand)

 

    • Composition No. 10 (for piano solo, 1969)
    • Falling River Music (Composition No. 366, 367b en 367d, 2008)
    • Echo Echo Mirror House Music (Composition No. 371, 2009)
    • Books:
      • Tri-Axium Writings Vol. I-III (excerpts)
      • Composition Notes Vol. A-E (excerpts)
  • Excerpts printed on A1 posters
    • Composition No. 76 (for trio, 1976)
    • Ghost Trance Music (Compositions No. 181, 246, 289 en 358, 1995-2006)
    • ZIM Music (Composition No. 402, 2015)
    • Composition titles (Composition No. 76, 96, 131, 136, 193, 221, 255, 264, 284, 358)
  • Documentary (led screen, video file, 16', looped): Behind the scenes of a rehearsal and performance of Anthony Braxton's Composition No. 255  by the Ghost Trance Septet at Rainy Days Festival in Luxembourg, November 13, 2021. This video can be seen following this link.

 
  • A selection of photos (click through the slide on the right via the arrow below the photo)

    • Portret, London, 2018 (c) Dawid Laskowski
    • Conducting Trillium E, 2011 (c) Michael Weintrob
    • Creative Orchestra 1976, recording session (c) Bill Smith
    • Handcues, London 2028 (c) Dawid Laskowski
    • With Derek Bailey and George Lewis in Pisa, 1982 (c) Gerard Rouy
    • With Hugo De Craen and chessboard cake (c) unknown
    • Portret, 1975 (c) Bill Smith



The exhibition was freely accessible to the public and open for continuous viewing starting the week preceding the concert and extending through the following week. Its placement in the entrance hall of DE SINGEL was deliberate; this location not only attracted DE SINGEL's regular audience but also ensured visibility to students from the Antwerp Conservatoire which shares the same premises. DE SINGEL documented the exhibition in an instagram post.

Lectures (Muziekstudio, DE SINGEL)


I invited Prof. Timo Hoyer and Prof. James Fei to give lectures on Braxton’s work. They gave their presentations in the afternoon, leading up to the concert. Hoyer’s presentation gave a general overview of Braxton’s music and philosophy, while Fei zoomed in on the more recent developments in Braxton’s work and more particulary on the latest system, Lorraine Music, which they would perform later that evening.


  • 4:00 PM Prof. Timo Hoyer (Pädagogische Hochschule Karlsruhe, DE): Anthony Braxton’s Tri-Centric Modelling - A System of Becoming

    Timo Hoyer is the author of the recently published book 'Anthony Braxton: Creative Music' (Wolke Verlag). His lecture provided a detailed overview of Braxton's compositional systems and how they are linked to his overarching musical philosophy of a Tri-Centric Model as developed throughout his career.


  • 5:00 PM Prof. James Fei (Mills College, US): Lorraine Music

    James Fei has been collaborating as a performer with Braxton for 30 years and has been witness to the most recent developments in Braxton's oeuvre from the frontline. Fei currently serves as president of the Tri-Centric Foundation. In his lecture, he delved into the new system 'Lorraine Music', which they performed live that evening with the Anthony Braxton Saxophone Quartet. He talked about the role of live electronics in this work and previous works from Braxton's oeuvre, and the specific implications of Braxton's extensive use of graphic or 'extended' notation for the performer.

 

Evening concerts (Blauwe Zaal, DE SINGEL) 


19u Creative Orchestra Music

Performed by students of the Royal Conservatory Antwerp, led by Kobe Van Cauwenberghe.

 

Language Music I

Composition No. 59 (1976)

Language Music II

Composition No. 69Q (1979)

Language Music III

Composition No. 56 (1976)

Language Music IV

Composition No. 58 (1976)

 

This performance was the culmination of numerous rehearsal sessions involving students from both the jazz and classical music departments of the Royal Conservatory Antwerp, under my direction. Our focus encompassed several compositions from Braxton’s renowned album “Creative Orchestra Music 1976”. However, we also dedicated substantial time to exploring collective improvisation through Braxton’s Language Music system. The resulting performance at DE SINGEL was a continuous suite, wherein Language Music improvisations were utilized to interweave and unify the various compositions. Alongside the Creative Orchestra pieces, I included No. 69Q, originally intended for Braxton’s quartet at the time. 

 

For more details on this performance and the rehearsal process, please read “Performing Anthont Braxton’s Creative Orchestra”. You can watch a recording of this performance here. All pictures below by Dawid Laskowski (click to expand).

 

20u Ghost Trance Music

Performed by the Ghost Trance Septet
Kobe Van Cauwenberghe: guitar, synth, voice

Steven Delannoye: tenor saxophone, bassclarinet

Anna Jalving: violin

Elisa Medinilla: piano

Niels Van Heertum: euphonium

João Lobo: drums, percussion

Frederik Sakham: contrabass, electric bass

 

Composition No. 255 (2000)

+ 40B, 40F, 108A, 168, 358, 6F

 

The Ghost Trance Septet served as a primary platform through which I delved into Anthony Braxton’s Ghost Trance Music (GTM) repertoire. An essential criterion for assembling this group was to bring together musicians with diverse musical backgrounds, spanning classical, jazz, and improvised music. Having already collaborated on several concerts, this performance also marked the official release of the double album “Ghost Trance Septet plays Anthony Braxton” (eNR105). During this event, we presented No. 255, a secondary species GTM composition. As customary in GTM performances, the repertoire encompassed various “tertiary compositions” from Braxton’s extensive catalog, predominantly sourced from his quartet books (40B, 40F, 6F), a “pulse track” composition (108A), a duo (168), and another GTM piece (358). Consequently, GTM provides a gateway to a broader spectrum of Braxton’s work, bridging past, present, and future elements of his music. The live performance is available for viewing here. For further insights into GTM, please refer to the articles in the GTM section.

21u Anthony Braxton Quartet

Anthony Braxton: saxophones

James Fei: saxophones

Ingrid Laubrock: saxophones

Chris Jonas: saxophones

 

Composition No. 436 (Lorraine Music, 2022)

 

The evening was concluded by Anthony Braxton himself who performed one of his very latest compositions, No. 436, with his saxophone quartet also featuring James Fei, Ingrid Laubrock and Chris Jonas. No. 436 is part of a new compositional system called “Lorraine Music” and besides the instrumental parts also contains live electronics. The performance highlighted Braxton’s unbridled sense of experimentation, and his ongoing search for new and creative musical paths to explore. In the programnotes I cited Braxton’s poetic description of Lorraine Music:

 

“Lorraine Music is a system that governs the ‘sonic winds’ of breath. There is stillness in the air and the ghosts of the past commands the space. Memories and shadows of ‘beingness’ adorn the ornamentation of old ruins and blessed relics. Sound castles in the sky – long forgotten experiences have returned with love and humility. Lorraine has come home to birth a renewal and awareness of the other. Lorraine the traveler.”

 

Pictures below by Dawid Laskowski, click to expand.

 


Being deeply involved in both curating and performing the program showcased at DE SINGEL on June 5th, 2022, it's understandably challenging for me to offer a completely impartial evaluation. Nonetheless, the evening undeniably felt like a resounding success. “Anthony Braxton’s Gambit” was a well attended event with an enthusiastic audience of over 400 people. With Braxton’s name on the program, it was sure to attract a longstanding crowd of fans, but surprisingly enough, it was Braxton’s set that proved to be the most demanding and relentlessy experimental, for the majority of the audience, as evidenced by their reactions afterwards. Braxton himself was delighted with the whole evening. He expressed great enthusiasm for the student’s Creative Orchestra performance and took the time to personally thank all the musicians afterward. He had already witnessed the Ghost Trance Septet in action in Luxembourg a few months prior, his enthusiasm was once again evident here as well. Professionally, this event marked a significant milestone within my research journey. Moreover, on a personal level, it solidified a lasting connection with Braxton.


In his hommage to Hugo De Craen for the online magazine JazzHalo, journalist Didier Wijnants commented the following related to this event:

“Nevertheless, two weeks ago we celebrated in DE SINGEL with Anthony Braxton. Hugo was particularly present because he helped put together this wonderful program a good year ago. (…) Much can be said about that evening at DE SINGEL. For example, how those young conseratory students led by Kobe Van Cauwenberghe visibly amused themselves with Braxton’s firecrackers. Hugo has always made it a point of honor to give opportunities to young musicians and to challenge them creatively. It was also great to see how Van Cauwenberghe’s septet handled the rules of Ghost Trance Music creatively but with great dedication. And how Braxton’s own saxophone quartet explored the boundaries even further.3