Nonaah cover
Released

Roscoe Mitchell’s composition “Nonaah” is infinitely mutable; it first appeared on the Art Ensemble of Chicago’s Fanfare for the Warriors, and he’s arranged it for all sorts of ensembles in the roughly five decades since writing it. On the almost literally stunning solo version that opens this double CD, he plays its opening five-note figure over and over, more and more harshly and aggressively, for nearly ten minutes straight, gradually subduing an audience that had been expecting Anthony Braxton. There are some gentle and beautiful passages as well, and by the end the crowd is roaring its appreciation, but as a gesture of self-determination and artistic resilience it’s virtually unmatched in avant-garde music history. It overshadows the rest of this double LP, which also features duos with Braxton and bassist Malachi Favors, a trio piece with pianist Muhal Richard Abrams and trombonist George Lewis, and a four-alto-sax version of “Nonaah” featuring Henry Threadgill, Joseph Jarman, and Wallace McMillan.

Phil Freeman

Suggestions
Perfection cover

Perfection

Murray, Allen & Carrington Power Trio
Blood Moon cover

Blood Moon

Ingrid Laubrock, Kris Davis
Go In Numbers cover

Go In Numbers

Wadada Leo Smith, New Dalta Ahkri
Songs You Like a Lot cover

Songs You Like a Lot

Gary Versace, John Hollenbeck, Theo Bleckmann, Kate McGarry
12 Comp (ZIM) 2017 cover

12 Comp (ZIM) 2017

Anthony Braxton
Saturn Sings cover

Saturn Sings

Mary Halvorson Quintet
Rembrandt Pussyhorse cover

Rembrandt Pussyhorse

Butthole Surfers