Duet (Other Minds) 2021, by Anthony Braxton and James Fei

Duet (Other Minds) 2021

by Anthony Braxton and James Fei

supported by

Rutger Zuydervelt (Machinefabriek) thumbnail

Joel Krutt / Pushing The Envelope thumbnail

broadcast - energy - transmitter thumbnail

more...

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$7 USD or more
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
glass-mastered CD with extensive liner notes and photos

Includes unlimited streaming of Duet (Other Minds) 2021 via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 7 days

$15 USD or more
Subscription

Subscribe now to receive all the new music Other Minds Records releases, including this album and 14 back-catalog items, delivered instantly to you via the Bandcamp app for iOS and Android. You’ll also get access to subscriber-only exclusives. Learn more.

Subscribe Now $6 USD/month or more

Composition No. 429 42:44

buy track

about

Other Minds is pleased to announce the release of Duet (Other Minds) 2021, a new recording by Anthony Braxton and James Fei. The CD features a brilliantly captured live recording of “Composition 429,” a new work that Braxton composed specifically for the duo to perform at our OM 25 festival and dedicated to our Executive and Artistic Director, Charles Amirkhanian.

“Composition 429” is the first piece using a new writing method that Braxton calls “Lorraine.” The composer’s notes to the piece describe Lorraine as “a music system that governs the ‘sonic winds’ of breath.” Saxophonist and longtime collaborator James Fei contributes an essay detailing the Lorraine system, which uses a combination of traditional notation and color-coded symbols of the composer’s design to indicate “specific sound types or performance techniques,” drawing from Braxton’s long history as an artist but always looking to the future of music. This notation is uniquely not reliant on linear type or representation thereof. Also included in the Duet (Other Minds) 2021 package are extensive notes from noted jazz critic Nate Chinen contextualizing the performance.

It’s immediately apparent that the duo have been playing together for decades, Fei having appeared on numerous recordings of Braxton’s work throughout their years working together. Despite this, Duet (Other Minds) 2021 marks their first recording as a duo. Covering the spectrum of saxophones, the pair harmonizes strings of melodies that hover between the angular and the familiar. As Braxton himself puts it, “memories and shadows of ‘beingness’ adorn the ornamentation of old ruins and blessed relics.” The Lorraine system calls for performers to play the written material as composed followed by an extrapolative section where players improvise with the material following an additional layer of more abstract notation, but always in rhythmic unison. In this performance, Braxton and Fei are accompanied by “Diamond Curtain Wall Music,” an electronics system that continuously derives pitch information from their performance. This multitude of layers expands and contracts and interacts in an ever-changing kaleidoscope that even stretches to encompass the composer’s past work - in this case Braxton’s “Ghost Trance Music,” Compositions No. 272 and No. 343. The pair cover a dizzying swath of territory over the course of the piece’s 40 minutes.

Anthony Braxton’s restless creativity is on full display on Duet (Other Minds) 2021, the sound of a composer decades into his career continuing to not only expand the breadth of his oeuvre, but continuing to find the joy and excitement in doing it. This music capitalizes on not only the deep creative partnership between the players, but also the deep relationship between the players and the music - a unique experience even for a composer with the massive catalog of Anthony Braxton.

credits

released September 2, 2022

Performed by Anthony Braxton & James Fei, recorded live on October 17, 2021 at Taube Atrium Theater, San Francisco, CA as a part of Other Minds Festival 25.

Charles Amirkhanian - Executive Producer
James Fei - Mixing Engineer
Andrew Weathers - Producer and Mastering Engineer
Mark Abramson - Packaging Design

Music © 2021 Anthony Braxton (Synthesis Music, BMI)

OM 1033-2

license

about

Other Minds Records San Francisco, California

Other Minds is a global New Music community where composers, students, and listeners discover and learn about innovative music by composers from all over the world.

otherminds.org

contact / help

Contact Other Minds Records

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Duet (Other Minds) 2021, you may also like:

Sun Beans of Shimmering Light
by Wadada Leo Smith / Douglas R. Ewart / Mike Reed

supported by 40 fans who also own “Duet (Other Minds) 2021”

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
go to album
Duo (Improv) 2017
by Anthony Braxton Eugene Chadbourne

supported by 36 fans who also own “Duet (Other Minds) 2021”

what a gift this is! two of my absolute heroes, together. steve slivka
go to album
Duo (Bologna) 2018
by Anthony Braxton & Jaqueline Kerrod (IDA 039 – 2020)

supported by 36 fans who also own “Duet (Other Minds) 2021”

Superb. What seems an implausible combination of instruments is in fact a great showcase for AB's sinuous saxophones. JK's harp sounds like a particularly rich guitar and her playing is virtuosic. Personally I think Anthony Braxton is at his best in these more intimate settings. This will likely be on my top ten list at end of year. arbitify
go to album
Perseids
by somesurprises

The Seattle band work around the edges of shoegaze and dream pop with a rare sense of clarity and momentum. Bandcamp Album of the Day Apr 19, 2024
go to album
Love Heart Cheat Code
by Hiatus Kaiyote

featured on Bandcamp Radio Apr 19, 2024
go to album
Mind Blossom
by Fr1th

featured on Bandcamp Radio Apr 19, 2024
go to album
12 Comp (ZIM) 2017
by Anthony Braxton

supported by 35 fans who also own “Duet (Other Minds) 2021”

Beautifully immersive sound experience. Not familiar enough with the mechanics of ZIM and the liner notes are pretty oblique about those but ample on the poetics and the humor (yes!) of this music. A high water mark for Braxton's music. Mr. Edison
go to album