In the fall of 2019, Louise and I decided to record some of Anthony Braxton's compositions at the school we teach at in Toftlund.
Composition No. 168 is a long work for two instrumentalists, featuring over 50 pages of notation. Taking its suggestive title (which seems to be a drawing of a couple in front of a house in the evening, the male figure wearing some kind of cloak and holding a strange object with the female figure in a vehicle) into account, Composition No. 168 seems to be a kind of meditation on long-term relationships, making it a perfect choice for Louise and me. Two people taking a journey through massive amounts of notation, having to navigate and find their way together, with disagreements about what direction to take as well as magical moments popping up along the way, was for us a kind of meta-exploration of our own relationship.
Maybe worth noting is one of the stranger moments on the recording where, after a round of instrument-switching where Louise began playing parts of 168 on the piano and I was playing a pulse track from composition 108, Louise suddenly started freely singing excerpts of the libretto from Braxton's Trillium J opera, which was slowly transformed into a bizarre vocal/bass jazz duet, before returning to 168's primary material.
This recording marks the first time we played the piece, but I imagine it will be material we'll be returning to over the years.
- Tom Blancarte
credits
released January 11, 2020
Louise Dam Eckardt Jensen: alto saxophone, flute, alto clarinet, shakuhachi, piano & voice
Tom Blancarte: upright bass & amplified euphonium
Recorded, Mixed & Mastered by Pape Felipe Arce Bayona November 5, 2019 at Musik og Teaterhøjskolen, Toftlund, Denmark
Marsken Records is a label based out of the Sønderjylland region of Denmark. It is the product of the cooperative energies
of husband and wife team Tom Blancarte and Louise Dam Eckardt Jensen, and is dedicated to releasing extreme music from Southern Denmark....more
supported by 6 fans who also own “Anthony Braxton Composition No. 168 ( + 108B + 108D + 380)”
Simply amazing to hear a new album with Wadada and Ewart!! ...And Reed rounds out this trio beautifully.
Just gave it my first spin. Absolutely magical. jeffrey maurer