Getting the word out, part 7

Francesco Martinelli in the September issue of Point of Departure:

The most recent example of Braxton's strategy is the stunning – in sheer size and quality – 9 Compositions (Iridium) 2006 (Firehouse 12; reviewed in PoD Issue 11). Braxton has described this 9 CD + 1 DVD box set as the defining point in his career so far. Featuring recordings of Compositions Nos. 350 through 358, among the last in the Ghost Trance Musics series introduced over a decade ago, this is a landmark publication for several reasons. It documents an extended engagement on a New York Jazz Club stage, a rarity in itself; it features a 13-piece ensemble that can better represent the current state of strategies like the use of sectional leaders and constantly reconfiguring breakout groups to implement the mix of a composition’s primary pulse materials and the performance-specific array of secondary materials. A key element of the collection is the DVD, which includes a lecture by Braxton at Columbia University interspersed with video footage of the performances at Iridium. The lecture provides an instantaneous point of entry, as Braxton explains with great clarity and conviction the basic tenets of his music, and the snippets help identify the different characteristics of the compositions, vibrantly illustrating the composer's points in the talk. The lecture video's quality is home-made, but the important information is there and it comes through.

...Braxton creates his own system of references, his fascinating theory shifting the orchestral paradigms from idiomatic to melodies freely developed in time. But, what is amazing here is the power of the music, so rarely attained these days. No cautions or back-thinking, these musicians go for it, exploring the structures devised by the leader by finding their own ways to trace the landscape. Any open-eared listener cannot miss the inspiring variety of textures, rhythms and forms attained by the Braxtonized musicians.