Saxophonist Anthony Braxton joins
pianist Walter Frank on the latter's recording debut
(note: the album cover misspells his last name, adding
an "s" to the end). Frank, an Argentinian
composer/improviser, has a graduate degree from Wesleyan
and chops to burn. His work has focused on post-minimal
music, including premieres of works by composer William
Duckworth. His tonally centered and ostinato-heavy style
is an interesting new foil for Braxton. Happily, the
pairing is an effective one on
4 Improvisations.
While each disc is split into two tracks, each
including a twenty-plus minute long selection, there is
an expansive quality to the music-making, as well as a
concomitant multiplicity of styles, that makes each
"improvisation" sound like a fantasy with several
discrete sections. "Improvisation 1" is a particularly
wide-ranging journey: its opening pits Braxton's bluesy
tenor saxophone utterances against Frank's thick block
chords. The pianist then moves into a limpid,
contrapuntal style, frequently creating shimmering
arpeggiations and impressionistic harmonies. This in
turn elicits a lyrical dolce sensibility from
Braxton, who renders melodies as hushed, impassioned
whispers. While this delicate interplay is eventually
succeeded by a series of more vigorous interchanges, it
is the album's most stunning passage, and one that will
linger in your mind.
That said, Frank also holds his own in the more
muscular interchanges. He accumulates a beehive of
swirling minimal ostinati, to which Braxton
responds with lightning fast trills. When Braxton has
had enough of the limitations of the post-minimal
harmonic field, he breaks out in a roaring, almost
raucous burst of angularity, inspiring Frank to
crescendo into more cluster-based harmonies and engage
in a dissonant cadenza of melodic jabs and body blows.
The two end the work playing in disparate styles:
Braxton relies on avant-jazz altissimo shrieks, while
Frank lays down layers of modal harmony. They somehow
remain on the same page, creating a deliciously unusual
hybrid music.
On "Improvisation 2", Frank plays in a drier, more
staccato style. Braxton rips through some scintillating
licks, creating intricate polyrhythms against Frank's
repeated bass register interjections. Both are in avant
high octane mode on "Improvisation 3"; Braxton's playing
is fluid -- darting nimbly, bending pitches,
breathlessly spinning out endless passages of dizzying
melody. Frank plays machine gun-tempo repeated notes in
reply, eventually graduating into acrobatic passages
that exploit the piano's entire compass.
"Improvisation 4" is a lively dance, often operating
in 6/8 time. Energetic streams of piano notes move in
perpetual motion. Braxton's tenor sax navigates
wide-ranging solo terrain, by turns sleek and
ruminative. Romantic hued harmonies are pitted against
post-bop runs, combining in a music that is both
ear-catching and exploratory. Braxton and Frank are
terrific sparring partners; hopefully they'll team up
again in the near future.