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Anthony Braxton (born June 4, 1945) is a composer, multi-reedist and pianist. He has created a large body of highly complex work. Much of Braxton's music is jazz oriented, but he has also been active in free improvisation, orchestral music and has written operas.
One critic has written that "Although Braxton exhibited a genuine — if highly idiosyncratic — ability to play older forms (influenced especially by saxophonists Warne Marsh,
John Coltrane, Paul Desmond, and
Eric Dolphy), he was never really accepted by the jazz establishment, due to his manifest infatuation with the practices of such non-jazz artists as John Cage and Karlheinz Stockhausen. Many of the mainstream's most popular musicians (Wynton Marsalis among them) insisted that Braxton's music was not jazz at all. Whatever one calls it, however, there is no questioning the originality of his vision; Anthony Braxton created music of enormous sophistication and passion that was unlike anything else that had come before it."
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Early in his career, Braxton led a trio with violinist Leroy Jenkins and trumpeter Leo Smith.
In 1968 Braxton recorded
For Alto, the first full-length album for unaccompanied saxophone. The album's songs were dedicated to Cecil Taylor and John Cage, among others. The album influenced other artists like Steve Lacy (soprano sax) and George Lewis (trombone), who would go on to record their own acclaimed solo albums.
Through much of the 1970's Braxton led a quartet with Dave Holland (double bass) and Barry Altschul (drums); the rotating brass chair was variously filled by trumpeter Kenny Wheeler, or trombonists Ray Anderson or George Lewis (trombonist).
Braxton's regular group in the 1980's and early 1990's was a quartet with Marilyn Crispell (piano), Mark Dresser (double bass) and Gerry Hemingway on drums was called "his finest — and longest standing — band".
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His music is highly theoretical and mystically influenced, and he is the author of multiple volumes explaining his theories and pieces published by Frog Peak Music.
Since 1995 Braxton has been composing and performing almost exclusively what he calls Ghost Trance Music, which introduces a steady pulse to his music and also allows the simultaneous performance of any piece by him.
Braxton is an avid chess player.
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