Review
by Michael G. Nastos
The use of multiphonics in jazz has been mastered by very few players, and while at times shrill and thin, can be enlivening and exciting. Rahsaan Roland Kirk and Albert Mangelsdorff set the gold standard, while several trumpeters like Rayse Biggs and Corey Wilkes have tried it with two brass instruments, and contemporary saxophonist Jeff Coffin gives it ago. George Braith holds a singularly unique place in the pantheon of these stylistas, following the path of Kirk in playing two saxophones while combining bop and soul-jazz. This set represents the complete works of Braith on Blue Note in 1963 and 1964 from the albums Two Souls in One, Soul Stream, and Extension. While a consistently satisfying set, it does take some orientation and a bit of patience warming up to the duality presented on a combination of soprano, alto, straight alto aka the stritch, and tenor sax. The brilliant guitarist Grant Green and Braith's high school classmate Billy Gardner on the Hammond B-3 organ are heard throughout, with three different drummers per album. Braith wrote the bulk of the material, with an occasional cover or traditional song tossed in for good measure. Because of the uneven level of song choices overall, there are definitive standout cuts, but the Two Souls in One recording features the great drummer Donald Bailey, and that factor alone lifts the first five tracks. Theoretically, doing "Mary Ann" and "Mary Had a Little Lamb" brings the session down to a childish level. A unique version on alto only of the choppy, Latin shaded "Poinciana," the original light waltz "Home Street" with the dual horns agreeably merging together, and the 13 1/2 minute soprano sax jam "Braith-A-Way" lifts the cache of Braith's music. Hugh Walker on the drum kit stokes the rhythms for Soul Stream, six cuts that range from a stealth, slinky variation of "The Man I Love" (dedicated to assassinated Pres. John F. Kennedy,) the spatial ballad title track, the hot bop "Boop Bop Bing Bash" with Braith's woodwinds a tad bleating, and the Spanish castanet flavored traditional "Billy Told," adapted from the "William Tell Overture." Finally Clarence Johnston is the drummer on the final six selections, all originals save for a bop take of the Cole Porter standard "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye," which closely foreshadows the style of Kirk. Braith adopts a lilting quality for the spirit waltz "Nut City," paraphrases Dizzy Gillespie and Gil Fuller's "Things to Come" on "Extension," while Johnston proffers the perfect small shuffle beat on "Sweetville." "Out Here" is the most fun and playful tune of the entire collection, using pedal point start-stops, shifting bop lines, and tangents that stream out of the nimble beat. Grant Green is the true star here at a time where he was ultimately empowered as a sideman, and special attention must be given to the obscure but cozy and talented Gardner. Where the saxophonist's personal sound may not universally appeal to all, his style next to Kirk compares favorably. One of the truly lost figures of modern jazz, George Braith deserves a revisit, and this complete compilation is quite worthy of more attention as the years go passing by.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-complete-blue-note-sessions-mw0000114230?1648813906020
Biography
by Steve Huey
Multi-reedist George Braith was one of the very few jazz musicians to follow in the footsteps of Rahsaan Roland Kirk in playing multiple instruments at the same time. Born George Braithwaite on June 27, 1939, in New York City, Braith's West Indian parents encouraged all of their nine children to pursue music, especially for church; at age ten, Braith formed a Calypso band and soon began studying woodwinds. At 15, his jazz quintet played a summer in the Catskills, and at 17, he was discovered by critic Nat Hentoff; after graduating high school, Braith toured Europe with his quintet, studied at the Manhattan School of Music, and gigged around the East Coast. He began to develop his two-horn technique in 1961, using a stritch (a type of straight alto) and a soprano sax that were configured to be played with one hand apiece; he also developed a double horn, dubbed the Braithophone, which consisted of two sopranos welded together. Braith signed with Blue Note and, in 1963, appeared on John Patton's Blue John and recorded his own debut album, Two Souls in One; it combined soul-jazz and folk melodies, plus the lengthy, popular "Braith-a-Way." His next two Blue Note albums, Soul Stream and Extension, found him continuing to improve his technique and compositional skill, though he began to move away from his two-horn technique. After leaving Blue Note, Braith recorded two sessions for Prestige, 1966's Laughing Soul and 1967's more outside Musart. He also opened a New York club called Musart, which was an important avant-garde venue for several years before Braith moved to Europe and closed it down. Braith eventually returned to New York, where he continued his experiments with multiple horns and worked as both a club and street musician.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/george-braith-mn0000532280/biography
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Reseña
por Michael G. Nastos
El uso de multifónicos en el jazz ha sido dominado por muy pocos músicos, y aunque a veces es estridente y delgado, puede ser vivificante y emocionante. Rahsaan Roland Kirk y Albert Mangelsdorff establecieron el estándar de oro, mientras que varios trompetistas como Rayse Biggs y Corey Wilkes lo han intentado con dos instrumentos de metal, y el saxofonista contemporáneo Jeff Coffin lo hace. George Braith ocupa un lugar singularmente único en el panteón de estos estilistas, siguiendo la senda de Kirk al tocar dos saxofones mientras combina el bop y el soul-jazz. Este set representa los trabajos completos de Braith en Blue Note en 1963 y 1964 de los álbumes Two Souls in One, Soul Stream, y Extension. Si bien es un conjunto consistentemente satisfactorio, requiere cierta orientación y un poco de paciencia para calentar la dualidad presentada en una combinación de saxo soprano, alto, alto recto (stritch) y tenor. El brillante guitarrista Grant Green y el compañero de instituto de Braith, Billy Gardner, en el órgano Hammond B-3 se escuchan en todo el disco, con tres baterías diferentes por álbum. Braith escribió la mayor parte del material, con una versión ocasional o una canción tradicional para la buena medida. Debido al nivel desigual de las elecciones de canciones en general, hay cortes definitivos que destacan, pero la grabación de Two Souls in One cuenta con el gran baterista Donald Bailey, y ese factor por sí solo eleva las primeras cinco pistas. En teoría, hacer "Mary Ann" y "Mary Had a Little Lamb" rebaja la sesión a un nivel infantil. Una versión única, sólo en contralto, de la entrecortada y latina "Poinciana", el vals ligero original "Home Street", con las dos trompas fusionándose agradablemente, y la jam de 13 minutos y medio de saxo soprano "Braith-A-Way" eleva el caché de la música de Braith. Hugh Walker en la batería aviva los ritmos de Soul Stream, seis cortes que van desde una variación sigilosa y deslizante de "The Man I Love" (dedicada al asesinado presidente John F. Kennedy), la balada espacial que da título al disco, el hot bop "Boop Bop Bing Bash" con los vientos de madera de Braith un poco balados, y la tradicional "Billy Told" con sabor a castañuelas españolas, adaptada de la "Obertura de Guillermo Tell". Por último, Clarence Johnston es el baterista en las últimas seis selecciones, todas ellas originales, salvo una versión bop del estándar de Cole Porter "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye", que presagia el estilo de Kirk. Braith adopta una cualidad lilting para el vals espiritual "Nut City", parafrasea "Things to Come" de Dizzy Gillespie y Gil Fuller en "Extension", mientras que Johnston ofrece el perfecto ritmo de shuffle pequeño en "Sweetville". "Out Here" es la melodía más divertida y juguetona de toda la colección, utilizando paradas de arranque a punta de pedal, líneas de bop cambiantes y tangentes que salen del ágil ritmo. Grant Green es la verdadera estrella aquí en un momento en el que se potenció como sideman, y hay que prestar especial atención al oscuro pero acogedor y talentoso Gardner. Donde el sonido personal del saxofonista puede no ser universalmente atractivo para todos, su estilo al lado de Kirk se compara favorablemente. Una de las figuras verdaderamente perdidas del jazz moderno, George Braith, merece una revisita, y esta compilación completa es bastante digna de más atención a medida que pasan los años.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-complete-blue-note-sessions-mw0000114230?1648813906020
Biografía
por Steve Huey
El multireedista George Braith fue uno de los pocos músicos de jazz que siguió los pasos de Rahsaan Roland Kirk al tocar varios instrumentos al mismo tiempo. Nacido como George Braithwaite el 27 de junio de 1939 en la ciudad de Nueva York, los padres antillanos de Braith animaron a sus nueve hijos a dedicarse a la música, especialmente en la iglesia; a los diez años, Braith formó una banda de calipso y pronto empezó a estudiar los instrumentos de viento. A los 15 años, su quinteto de jazz tocó un verano en los Catskills, y a los 17 fue descubierto por el crítico Nat Hentoff; después de graduarse en el instituto, Braith hizo una gira por Europa con su quinteto, estudió en la Manhattan School of Music y actuó por toda la Costa Este. Comenzó a desarrollar su técnica de dos trompas en 1961, utilizando un stritch (un tipo de alto recto) y un saxo soprano que estaban configurados para ser tocados con una mano cada uno; también desarrolló una trompa doble, apodada Braithophone, que consistía en dos sopranos soldados. Braith firmó con Blue Note y, en 1963, apareció en el Blue John de John Patton y grabó su propio álbum de debut, Two Souls in One; combinaba melodías de soul-jazz y folk, además del largo y popular "Braith-a-Way". Sus dos siguientes álbumes de Blue Note, Soul Stream y Extension, le permitieron seguir mejorando su técnica y habilidad compositiva, aunque empezó a alejarse de su técnica de dos cuernos. Después de dejar Blue Note, Braith grabó dos sesiones para Prestige, Laughing Soul, de 1966, y Musart, de 1967, más alejado. También abrió un club en Nueva York llamado Musart, que fue un importante local de vanguardia durante varios años antes de que Braith se trasladara a Europa y lo cerrara. Finalmente, Braith regresó a Nueva York, donde continuó sus experimentos con múltiples trompas y trabajó como músico de club y de calle.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/george-braith-mn0000532280/biography
- Two Souls In One -
1-1 - Mary Ann - 7:28
1-2 - Home Street - 6:55
1-3 - Poinciana - 6:15
1-4 - Mary Had A Little Lamb - 6:54
1-5 - Braith-A-Way - 13:26
- Soul Stream -
1-6 - The Man I Love - 5:23
1-7 - Outside Around The Corner - 7:51
1-8 - Soul Stream - 3:11
2-1 - Boop Bop Bing Bash - 6:22
2-2 - Billy Told - 7:49
2-3 - Jo Anne - 5:19
- Extension -
2-4 - Nut City - 5:56
2-5 - Ethlyn's Love - 7:19
2-6 - Out Here - 6:55
2-7 - Extension - 6:37
2-8 - Sweetville - 6:00
2-9 - Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye - 4:28
Credits:
Design [Cover] – Patrick Roques
Design [Original Blue Note Covers] – Reid Miles
Drums – Clarence Johnston (tracks: 2-4 to 2-9), Donald Bailey (tracks: 1-1 to 1-5), Hugh Walker (tracks: 1-6 to 2-3)
Guitar – Grant Green
Mastered By [Using 24-bit Super Bit Mapping] – Ron McMaster
Organ – Billy Gardner
Photography By – Francis Wolff
Producer – Alfred Lion
Reissue Producer – Michael Cuscuna
Soprano Saxophone, Horn [Stritch], Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – George Braith
Contains 3 previously released albums:
Two Souls In One (originally BST 84148, recorded September 4, 1963)
Soul Stream (originally BST 84161, recorded December 16, 1963)
Extension (originally BST 84171, recorded March 27, 1964)
Recorded At – Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
Engineer [Recording] – Rudy Van Gelder
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