Alexander Hawkins

Oh dear. I prefer instruments to percussion

I really enjoy the Burrell. Great medley on it of 'West Side Story' tunes, and I really like the one completely free piece - with Sunny Murray, Sirone, and Pharoah Saunders (on tambourine!).

I should correct myself here...Not knowing much about Braxton, I didn't realise that he cut those albums on a tour over here in 1985 (Coventry, B'ham, London). Oh well...if not quite unborn, I was little! I've just picked up the 6 Compositions [GTM] on Ratascan...Haven't received it yet, but am looking forwards to it a lot now!

I have a track of Elvis Costello singing 'Weird Nightmare' (I think!) with the Mingus Big Band, which I quite enjoy!

Oops, sorry - I should maybe have aimed for this thread. I just scribbled a review of the Braxton quintet gig we had in London last night over on the Bill Dixon thread. To sum it up, I am now in awe!

I was lucky enough to be at the gig last night. I have never heard Braxton live before (wasn't born on his last visit to the country!), and was utterly overwhelmed. It wasn't simply the sort of excitement you get at hearing something excellently done, or anything like that, but a feeling of astonishment, admiration, and much else besides. It was a combination of a lot of things: doubtless the mystique value, and seeing a guy like Braxton on stage (I don't know whether this is a sensation that more experienced concert goers who've 'seen it all before' to a much larger extent get); the beauty of the music; the intrigue of various technical things which were going on (from extensive circular breathing from Braxton and his multiple instrument, to bizarre percussion techniques, to conch playing, to imaginative guitar sounds, to the hand signals which seemed to convey information about 'where next' to the performers). I can't really describe it. It was a genuinely moving and inspiring experience. The Taylor/Dixon/Oxley group for me had a hard job, simply because I was so stunned by Braxton, and only had the interval to 'get over it'! Oxley opened the show with a solo. He coaxed lots of beautiful sounds from his kit, for sure. It was gamelan-like at times. He also made some subtle - and musical, not 'gimmicky' - use of some kind of sampling tool throughout it. Then Dixon followed with a solo. I must admit, I was a bit unimpressed. He played variously into one of two microphones: one with some kind of phasing effect on it; the other with a huge amount of reverb. The whole thing was apparently an exercise in sonics and creating landscapes, but I couldn't really stick with it! He did use the sound of just his breath to interesting effect, though. Cecil Taylor then came on - after a rather bizarre (not to say a little disrespectful, I thought) sequence of heckles annoyed at the length of time he took to come on to the stage after Dixon (which must only have been 1-2 minutes). He began with a 10 or so minute solo, which reminded lots of moments from Scriabin piano music, especially the later stuff (Vers La Flamme, etc.) My friend thought 'Ravel' at this point, as well. Oxley and Dixon entered during this improvisation. What followed was frequently stunning, although I felt a little lost at points: I was enjoying sounds here and there, but found it difficult to stay with any kind of narrative thread or anything. This was the opposite reaction to the Braxton performance, where I was amazed at how organic everything was - a single hour-long piece, and I wished it would have gone for longer! I feel a little guilty at saying it, but I couldn't help but feel that Dixon was something of a passenger. Perhaps this was the fault of the large concert hall acoustic, or of how I was listening, however. Maybe if he wasn't there, I'd have noticed his contribution. I'm definitely looking forwards to hearing these again on the broadcasts. The Taylor group to see if I can understand more of what went on (again, maybe I was not only overwhelmed by the Braxton, but tired out for the Taylor as a result); the Braxton group to understand more of why I was so confounded (in the most positive of senses) by him and his group.

I had EXACTLY the same experience, down to the 'that was called Impromptu ['for You', I believe rounded out its title on Tuesday]' quote!

Thanks, Ubu - I suspected it might have been him from the picture on that album cover posted above, although had never quite made the connection...

Sorry - I don't know if this is a stupid question - is this the Eddie Henderson who plays with the Mingus Big Band? Thanks in advance!

Haven't been to the place in Southampton, although one of the nice things about the Leeds venue was that it was a club, so had that intimate feel. I agree about Sam - I was lucky enough to meet him afterwards (if only briefly) and he does seem like a really nice guy. Same goes for Doug Matthews.

Last Date is nice too. Actually, it's genuinely hard to think of a constructive answer to this question, because I could honestly recommend all the Dolphy I have heard.

I was lucky with my seat too - got the performance time wrong by 45 minutes, so got pretty much my choice. Took the punt that the big band sound might not be brilliant if I sat very close to the stage, but in the knowledge that I could see and hear everything going on, especially in the trio set. As it was, the big band sound was fantastic as well!

I wish there was a piano at the venue in Leeds - I really enjoy his playing, such as I've heard. Glad it was a good show!

p.s. how was the Bath show?

Caught the show on Tuesday night in Leeds. It was absolutely phenomenal. First set was just his trio. They began with a free improvisation which reminded me a lot of 'Tutankhamun' (I think) from the AEOC's 'Tribute to Lester' album; not that Rivers isn't anything other than totally original, just that that was the soundworld it came from for me. He played a couple of numbers each on soprano, tenor, and flute. He had extraordinary fire; I won't add 'considering his age', because if I'd had my eyes closed, there was absolutely no intimation at all that he was so old. He was also refreshingly down to earth in-between numbers: absolutely no pretence of taking himself too seriously, which I guess must be fairly common when playing such 'heavy' music! But when he played...he was almost trance-like in his concentration. The other two were fantastic also. Anthony Cole is a great showman, not to mention a formidable drummer: and musical, above all else. I was also impressed by his tenor playing: the moments when he and Doug Matthews picked up their horns to join Rivers in a wind trio were frequently astounding, and rarely less then gripping. Matthews played mostly upright, although picked up his electric for some monster funk in their last number of the set. His solo feature (which he took on upright) was beatiful - musical, rather than the technical masterclass which it could have been. His bass clarinet playing was also interesting: he got some really interesting squawks and squeaks from it, as well as possessing a really nice, deep tone. For the second set, the trio was joined by an all-star UK big band. For me, saxophonists Jason Yarde and Pete Wareham were definite highlights as soloists, although everyone seemed inspired. I think it's one of the great aspects of big band playing, that the relatively short and scarce solo space forces soloists into more concise, concentrated statements, and away from vacuousness and repetition. The arrangements were fascinating as well. Each of the four pieces I suppose might be best described as 'free funk'. The voicings of the horns were marvellous. I also liked very much the way he varied textures so subtly - the composition of one of the pieces - 'Tapestry' reflects this very nicely, I think. Anyway, highly recommended to anyone who can catch the band!

Thanks, Brownie and David - very interesting!

Thanks Brownie. Did he have some kind of affinity for this music? That came out wrong... What I mean is, I really enjoy his playing on this, but (and only perhaps because I'm not as knowledgeable as most here!) wouldn't have expected to see him in this type of line-up... Did he record anything of this type, for example, outside of that BYG circle?

I've been listening to this one a bit too recently. 'Balm in Gilead' is really beautiful; it was the first time I'd heard the tune. I also really like Dave Burrell's introduction to Sophisticated Lady. I've seen his name on the sleeves to a couple of these sort of dates, but how did Philly Joe get involved with this group of musicians? It was presumably far more than geographical coincidence (Paris)?

I'm afraid I'm boring when it comes to this game. If Art Tatum or Bird played it, then they're probably the answer!

Will be happy to report back! It's not for a month or so, but I'm definitely looking forwards to it.

Does anyone know what his current quintet is? Have just got tickets to a concert at the Barbican in London for a fantastic looking double bill: Cecil Taylor/Bill Dixon/Tony Oxley + the Anthony Braxton Quintet. Any help appreciated!

I've just received in the post, and am greatly enjoying, Sun Ra live at the 'Teatro La Fenice'. There's a CRAZY version of 'Penthouse Serenade' there! And a great 'A Train'.

People in Sorrow is absolutely stunning. I can't speak too highly of it. Beautiful.

Lonnie Smith 'Live at the Club Mozambique' is SWEET!

I think Jimmy Smith might have done 'Gloomy Sunday' on 'Monster' (Verve).