Thumbscrew Anthony Braxton Project CD

Thumbscrew is ßTOMAS FUJIWARA : Drums and Vibraphone, ßMARY HALVORSON : Guitar, ßMICHAEL FORMANEK : Bass. Celebrating Anthony Braxton on his 75th birthday, THUMBSCREW digs into the Tricentric Archives, focusing on previouslyßunrecorded pieces by the legendary composer, multi-wind master and bandleader. The all-star collective trio releases it's fifthßalbum for Cuneiform, The Anthony Braxton Project. For fans familiar with Braxton's music the project offers a whole new windowßinto his genius for designing protean musical situations pregnant with possibilities. Those less acquainted with his work might findßthemselves enthralled and amazed by the sheer diversity of rhythmic and melodic material explored by Thumbscrew. ßInvited to explore the Tri-Centric Foundation's voluminous Braxton archives in New Haven, Conn. As part of the Braxton75ßcelebration, the trio spent a long afternoon looking for rarely played pieces that could fit their instrumental palette. "The idea wasßfor us to choose compositions of Anthony's, mostly early compositions, which hadn't been previously recorded (or, in a coupleßcases, recorded only once or twice)," says Halvorson. "We chose pieces that captured our imagination and that we thought wouldßwork well for the instrumentation of guitar, bass, and drums or vibraphone. Our choices included graphic scores, complex notatedßpieces, and everything in between." All three of the musicians of Thumbscrew have had significant performing and / or study opportunities with Braxton, so theyßall can approach this music as 'insiders'.

1. Composition No. 52 2. Composition No. 157 3. Composition No. 14 (Guitar) 4. Composition No. 68 5. Composition No. 274 6. Composition No. 14 (Drums) 7. Composition No. 61 8. Composition No. 35 9. Composition No. 14 (Bass) 10. Composition No. 150 11. Composition No. 79