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Anthony Braxton Quartet: (Santa Cruz) 1991 1st Set

By Mark Corroto
May 9, 2015
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Anthony Braxton Quartet: (Santa Cruz) 1991 1st Set

Decoding the music of

Anthony Braxton

woodwinds
b.1945

" data-original-title="" title="">Anthony Braxton might be a lifetime's mission. With his symbol system compositions and grand unification theories, even the trained ear admits to perplexity and a certain ignorance. Braxton has never stopped, nor slowed to explain himself to listeners. There are moments of insights though, in his performances. One can glean his approach when he covers jazz standards, plays the music of

Charlie Parker

saxophone, alto
1920 - 1955

" data-original-title="" title="">Charlie Parker or

Lennie Tristano

piano
1919 - 1978

" data-original-title="" title="">Lennie Tristano. Perhaps another window into the mind of the great one is listening to his celebrated quartet recordings.

Braxton's quartet with pianist

Marilyn Crispell

piano
b.1947

" data-original-title="" title="">Marilyn Crispell, bassist

Mark Dresser

bass, acoustic
b.1952

" data-original-title="" title="">Mark Dresser, and drummer

Gerry Hemingway

drums
b.1955

" data-original-title="" title="">Gerry Hemingway performed together for nearly a decade. Each of his personnel would go on to be jazz luminaries, but in the cocoon of this quartet, Braxton took the format of the legendary

John Coltrane

saxophone
1926 - 1967

" data-original-title="" title="">John Coltrane Quartet and exploded it into a universe without boundaries.

(Santa Cruz) 1991 1st Set originally released in 1997 with both sets, is remastered and reissued here with just the first set of music. After this tour, Braxton decided the band had reached the zenith of its influence and disbanded. These Santa Cruz recordings are perhaps the finest documents of this band's existence.

Within the two lengthy tracks here, the quartet hints at Coltrane with a bluesy swing that appears towards the end of the last track. Crispell turns her keyboard into a serrated-edged note machine while Braxton liberates his alto saxophone. Elsewhere there are flashes and moments linking the music to his AACM roots. We hear him offering a soprano exploration one could mistake for the music of

Roscoe Mitchell

saxophone
b.1940

" data-original-title="" title="">Roscoe Mitchell and in another section his horn is influenced by (or more likely one that influenced) the articulations of

Evan Parker

saxophone, soprano
b.1944

" data-original-title="" title="">Evan Parker.

The beauty of this quartet is their cohesive transitions between Braxton compositions and improvisation. Hemingway displays an esp-like anticipation with each note and Dresser is a most solid foundation. Listeners need not grasp Stockhausen or Braxton's symbol systems to appreciate the dynamics at work here.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Comp. 159 + (30 + 108a) / Comp. 40(o) / Comp. 69f / Comp. 173 / Comp. 69(o) / Comp. 52.

Personnel

Anthony Braxton

woodwinds

Anthony Braxton: reeds; Marilyn Crispell: piano; Mark Dresser: bass; Gerry Hemingway: percussion, marimba.

Album information

Title: (Santa Cruz) 1991 1st Set | Year Released: 2015 | Record Label: Hat Hut Records

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