What made Anthony Braxton's his output at Arista (1974-80) so unique was the range of projects he was able to realize thanks to Clive Davis' supportive budget. This 8-CD set rescues his entire 14-LP Arista output from forgotten vaults. From live and studio recordings with his quartet (with Kenny Wheeler or George Lewis, Dave Holland and Barry Altschul) to solo alto excursions to a duet with Muhal Richard Abrams to Creative Orchestra Music to trios with Roscoe Mitchell/Joseph Jarman and Henry Threadgill/Douglas Ewert to his thoroughly composed pieces for two pianos and for four orchestras, Braxton explored every aspect of modern music through his own creative vision with astonishing results.
Don't be out off by Anthony's's dry, academic image. Albums like 'New York, Fall 1974', and 'Five Pieces', are very accessible. Any fan of Ornette Coleman's 1959–1960 recordings can hear the beauty in the musicians' four-way interaction. The live recordings 'The Montreux/Berlin Concerts' are packed with fun and energy, contradicting Braxton's reputation as a chilly avant-gardist. The somewhat more forbidding material on Alto Saxophone Improvisations 1979 and For Trio offers a rarefied, ascetic type of beauty, but won't scare away fans of the Art Ensemble of Chicago (AEOC hornmen Roscoe Mitchell and Joseph Jarman turn up as guests on the latter album).
This box belongs in all well-rounded jazz collections.
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