CDOTD #2 2/25/2023

 Thumbscrew: The Anthony Braxton Project (Cunieform)

Borrowed from the library

I should probably be (more) careful what I write in these blog posts. I know few will to read these. These comments will likely never be read by any of the people whose recordings are topics. 

A couple of things about Thumbscrew. I've met two of the three people in this band. There's a good chance I will again.

Also, they had a residency and I guess a continued relationship with City of Asylum. This recording was made during that residency. The notes read how they developed and premiered this set of pieces during that residency.

This can get into a touchy area for me, apart from the band itself. I've done all-Braxton performances, apart from having worked with Anthony myself. I try to be careful about namedropping Anthony, because I know it's tiresome. I've done it too much.

I'm glad City of Asylum brings in out-of-town musical artists. I don't think I'm being immodest though when I say I've had performances there that were equal or better than nearly every traveling artist I've seen. Not all of them, even I'm not that self-centered. 

Nonetheless, I still checked out this disc from the library, despite wishing I could receive the same support for a similar project. I am aware that it's not fair for me to even think that. 

And what of the recording? It's a pretty solid take on Braxton's music, and it's a pretty broad selection of his compositions over the years. I'd even say I prefer this to the other Thumbscrew recordings I've heard, which left me wanting more. That in itself might not be fair to them, the feeling that maybe a good saxophonist augmenting this trio would liven things up. But a good saxophonist augmenting this group would liven things up. 

Immediately on the first track, they're making it clear they're looking to reinterpret some of the pieces. "Composition 52" is a burner that closes Anthony's one and only LP on Antilles, a hard atonal swinger with some very wide, abrupt intervals. Thumbscrew slows it, removes the swing, and tames a few of the wide jumping intervals. I only have a reservation at all about the last point. As a fan and interpreter of the music familiar with the piece, I was waiting for some of those huge jumps in the melody.

The performances are pretty short, the longest single cut being shy of eight minutes in length, and the eight of the eleven tracks are under five. Length in such cases is not a measure of quality. It can be good that they're pushing more pieces out, keeping the performances tight. IN some cases though I really wish they had taken more time to develop the improvisations. 

So, here's another entry into the Braxton canon, a respectable one even if I have criticisms. He'll be turning 80 in three years, so I imagine we'll be seeing more.