(1987) Anthony Braxton - Six Monk's Compositions ****

 

With: Anthony Braxton (alto saxophone), Mal Waldron (piano), Buell Neidlinger (bass), Bill Osborne (drums)
Record date: June 30 & July 1, 1987

Speaking of fascinating musical collaborations: this is definitely one of them! Braxton recorded several albums for Black Saint, the sister label of Soul Note for which Mal mostly recorded. Braxton had already recorded tons of records but he did not record a lot of Monk. Monk's music is written for musicians like Braxton: they are tricky, complicated and demand a lot of the musician. With his excellent technique and refreshing innovations playing these tunes by Monk was an excellent idea and there was more to come. And Mal and Monk.... well I have probably told it all before: he was a key influence on Mal in the sense of using space, dissonance and his sense of timing. Mal had played of his compositions before, especially with Steve Lacy who was another Monk afficionado. Completing the band here is Bill Osborne (this is probably his only recorded performance?) and bassist Buell Neidlinger who was present at the birth of avant-garde piano playing in the 1950's with Cecil Taylor.

Though Braxton plays a very different style from Waldron they do match pretty well and mostly: they complement each other and force each other to explore other territories. The six compositions chosen are all pretty advanced pieces of music with lots of interesting directions. Braxton shines on all of them with his incredible technique. He could play so fast that you could hardly hear what he's doing in some parts. His playing on this record is fairly accesible and definitely among the more contemporary jazz music he has made. The constantly changing rhythm on 'Brilliant Corners' keeps your absolute attention to the music. And that really is to say with all of the music. Though not very inventive in sound there is a lot going on musically and technically. Also Mal shows another side of him playing very much with Monk's hands here and there. There's the dissonance, the funny time keeping, the unexpected hits and humurous elements. Monk was an influence but that influence is most clear on this very record.

One must know I am not a huge Braxton fan. In no way I would deny the enormous contributions he made to jazz music nor his great skills. It's more that his style does not really move me. For me, he just plays too many notes sometimes. On this record it's also a bit like that though this quartet setting is definitily one I prefer when I listen to him. The band is a very tight one though the focus is mainly on Braxton's and Waldron's playing. Really just listen to 'Skippy' and try not to laugh. Braxton is all over the place, playing probably something like 64th or even 128th notes. He's fast as lightning and it's a mirracle the whole band could keep up with him. It's these kind off compositions that make this record really worth having. 

This is fascinating music as the combination of these artists isn't the most logical but still works out very well. Definitely recommended for both Braxton and Waldron fans. And still widely avaible, It's also in the Cam Jazz boxes by both Waldron as Braxton.

(1989) Chico Freeman/Mal Waldron - Up and Down ***1/2

 

With: Chico Freeman (tenor & soprano saxophone), Mal Waldron (piano), Tiziana Ghiglioni (vocals on 2 and 5), Rocky Knauer (bass on 3,5 and 6 )
Record date: July 25 and August 1, 1989

Mal Waldron playing in an intimate setting with a saxophone player. That mostly really turns out very well. The saxophone player must be very good. Is Chico any good? Yes he is! His works for ‘India Navigation’ in the 70’s are great. ‘Spirit Sensitive’ is one of my favorite albums from that decade. So nothing could go wrong? Well, almost nothing. This album is very much a mixed bag. 

The starting ‘Battleground’ is one of the best compositions of the album. Opening with Mal’s dark chords and voicing, then comes in Chico Freeman with some great tenor playing. But he sounds a bit tempered or something. I expected a little more fire from him. It’s Mal that is truly shining here with his nervous and dark chords in the background trying to push Chico into new directions. It still sounds like Chico is playing with the breaks on. Then on the second track there’s Tiziana again. As I already mentioned: she is not a bad singer. But following the quite fiery Battleground this really is a bummer. It all collapses into a very tame and smooth jazz ballad. On ‘Tyrolean Waltz’ Chico has some chance to show off his excellent saxophone skills. Can’t say a bad word on that as his control over the instrument is excellent. I once heard somebody say he can’t play. Well I ain’t no expert in saxophone techniques but he sounds fine to me. Also there is Rocky Knauers first appearance here (misspelled as Ricky). Rocky was with Mal in Klaus Weiss’ band. He is an excellent bassist that is most known for his affiliation with Chet Baker.

The remaining tracks aren’t making much of a difference. The exception is probably the title track with Chico, Mal and a more dominant Knauer. Here there are some signs of chemistry between the musicians and Chico’s playing sounds more inspired. He’s a little more on fire here. It has a nice funky vibe and this final track pushes my rating from 3 stars to a nice 3.5.

Definitely not a punishment listening to it but both Chico and Mal did way better. Maybe it just did not work out between them. I miss a bit of chemistry between them. They played again on a later occasion with drummer Sangoma Everett. What I can reveal is that there it also doesn’t really work out very well. Most of Mal’s stuff was brought out on Soul Note, but this one on sister label Black Saint which mostly represented the more freejazz oriented recordings. This recording is not really 'free', it’s pretty accessible. A record that contains some nice playing but fails to really impress.