George Braith • Musart

 

Review
by Thom Jurek  
Saxophonist and composer George Braith released five recordings during the 1960s before going silent for a couple of decades. He is well known as an innovator, able to play two saxophones at once -- he was inspired after seeing Roland Kirk in a Philly club -- though he used that technique only when a tune warranted it. Braith's first four albums -- Laughing Soul, Soul Stream, Two Souls in One, Extension (all cut for Blue Note except Laughing Soul) -- wove hard bop and soul-jazz that was ubiquitous for both labels at the time. His final offering for Prestige, 1967's Musart, is a whole other thing. For the first time, Braith was allowed to follow his muse with a plethora of musicians in various combinations, and employ a wide range of sounds and textures, which were captured spectacularly by Rudy Van Gelder. Musically, Musart seamlessly moves from Latin, exotica, and bossa to gently dissonant outside jazz to hard-grooving soul-jazz. The opening "Del's Theme" commences with an exotic, haunting, wordless female backing chorus, a Latin rhythmic pulse set by hand drums and shakers, and Ben Dixon's drum kit; Braith and pianist Jane Getz wind around them modally before his alto digs into a meaty but fluid melody. On "Laura," Braith uses a strich (a straight alto horn sans bell) atop a chorus of percussion and bass, playing a bluesy, straight-ahead melody through African rhythms before Getz solos in bright colors and tones. The intro to "Our Blessings," played to a tango rhythm by electric guitars, organ, electric bass, and Getz's deft right-hand arpeggios, highlights Braith's soulful yet angular strich. And speaking of soul, the brief "Splashes of Love" melds Motown with Bacharach-esque pop in Braith's breezy yet adventurous soprano saxophone improvisation. The crown jewel in this set, however, is the title track. Over nine minutes long, it begins with layers of percussion, a single bass note, and its first overtone. An electric guitar enters, playing the outlines of a chord progression without completing it, and Braith doubles on soprano and alto to create the theme. A flamenco interlude follows on guitar and is dramatized by Getz's piano before the worlds of Latin and African musics, modal and free jazz, all entwine without ever losing focus; moving farther afield and ending in wide-open space. It's a stunner. It's followed by a warm, fluid reading of the standard ballad "Embraceable You," played on fat-sounding, C-melody horn, and it's closed by the funky Latin soul of "Evelyn Anita," with Braith on strich and soprano leading congas, bongos, tambourines, and bass. Musart is his masterpiece; it is one of the most diverse yet refined albums to come out of the '60s, and has few peers even today. Its wholly original, creative imagination and expert execution are equaled only by its perfect balance between refinement and solid grooves.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/musart-mw0001881473


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 Thom Jurek  
El saxofonista y compositor George Braith publicó cinco grabaciones durante los años 60 antes de permanecer en silencio durante un par de décadas. Es conocido como un innovador, capaz de tocar dos saxofones a la vez -- se inspiró después de ver a Roland Kirk en un club de Filadelfia -- aunque sólo utilizaba esa técnica cuando una melodía lo justificaba. Los cuatro primeros álbumes de Braith -- Laughing Soul, Soul Stream, Two Souls in One, Extension (todos para Blue Note excepto Laughing Soul) -- entrelazaban hard bop y soul-jazz, algo omnipresente en ambos sellos en aquella época. Su último trabajo para Prestige, Musart (1967), es algo totalmente distinto. Por primera vez, Braith se permitió seguir a su musa con una plétora de músicos en diversas combinaciones, y emplear una amplia gama de sonidos y texturas, que fueron capturados espectacularmente por Rudy Van Gelder. Musicalmente, Musart se mueve con fluidez desde el latín, la exótica y la bossa hasta el jazz exterior suavemente disonante y el soul-jazz hard-grooving. El tema de apertura "Del's Theme" comienza con un coro femenino exótico, inquietante y sin palabras, un pulso rítmico latino marcado por tambores de mano y shakers, y la batería de Ben Dixon; Braith y la pianista Jane Getz los rodean modalmente antes de que su contralto se adentre en una melodía carnosa pero fluida. En "Laura", Braith utiliza una strich (una trompa contralto recta sin campana) sobre un coro de percusión y bajo, tocando una melodía bluesy y directa a través de ritmos africanos antes de que Getz haga un solo con colores y tonos brillantes. La introducción de "Our Blessings", interpretada a ritmo de tango por guitarras eléctricas, órgano, bajo eléctrico y los hábiles arpegios de la mano derecha de Getz, pone de relieve la conmovedora pero angulosa voz de Braith. Y hablando de soul, la breve "Splashes of Love" fusiona la Motown con el pop de Bacharach en la improvisación del saxo soprano de Braith. Sin embargo, la joya de la corona es la canción que da título al disco. Con más de nueve minutos de duración, comienza con capas de percusión, una sola nota de bajo y su primer sobretono. Entra una guitarra eléctrica, que toca los contornos de una progresión de acordes sin completarla, y Braith dobla en soprano y contralto para crear el tema. Sigue un interludio flamenco a la guitarra, dramatizado por el piano de Getz, antes de que los mundos de las músicas latina y africana, el jazz modal y el free jazz, se entrelacen sin perder nunca el foco, alejándose y terminando en un espacio abierto. Es una maravilla. Le sigue una lectura cálida y fluida de la balada estándar "Embraceable You", interpretada con una trompa con melodía de do y un sonido gordo, y la cierra el funky soul latino de "Evelyn Anita", con Braith en la strich y la soprano dirigiendo congas, bongos, panderetas y bajo. Musart es su obra maestra; es uno de los álbumes más diversos y refinados de los años 60, y tiene pocos parangones incluso hoy en día. Su imaginación creativa, totalmente original, y su ejecución experta sólo son igualadas por su equilibrio perfecto entre refinamiento y ritmo sólido.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/musart-mw0001881473


Biografía
por Steve Huey
El multireedista George Braith fue uno de los pocos músicos de jazz que siguieron los pasos de Rahsaan Roland Kirk tocando varios instrumentos a la vez. Nacido como George Braithwaite el 27 de junio de 1939 en 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 Calypso y pronto empezó a estudiar instrumentos de viento. A los 15 años, su quinteto de jazz tocó un verano en Catskills, y a los 17 fue descubierto por el crítico Nat Hentoff; tras graduarse en el instituto, Braith recorrió 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 saxo alto recto) y un saxo soprano que estaban configurados para tocarse con una mano cada uno; también desarrolló una doble trompa, apodada el Braithophone, que consistía en dos sopranos soldadas entre sí. Braith firmó con Blue Note y, en 1963, apareció en Blue John de John Patton y grabó su propio álbum de debut, Two Souls in One; combinaba soul-jazz y melodías folk, además de la larga y popular "Braith-a-Way". En sus dos siguientes álbumes para Blue Note, Soul Stream y Extension, siguió mejorando su técnica y su 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. 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

Tracks:
1 - Del's Theme - 8:45
2 - Laura - 6:40
3 - Our Blessings - 3:55
4 - Splashes Of Love - 2:45
5 - Musart - 9:21
6 - Embraceable You - 5:10
7 - Evelyn Anita - 7:20


Credits:
    Bass – Victor Davis (tracks: A3, B3), Bill Salter*
    Bongos, Tambourine – Angel Allende
    Congas – Popito Allende
    Design, Photography By – Don Schlitten
    Drums – Ben Dixon (tracks: A3, B3)
    Guitar – Eddie Diehl, Jay Carter (tracks: A3, B3)
    Liner Notes [April 1967] – George Braith
    Percussion – Chico Torres, Freddie Briggs*, Gilbert Braithwaite
    Piano – Jane Getz
    Producer – Cal Lampley
    Recorded By – Rudy Van Gelder
    Saxophone [C-melody], Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – George Braith
Track 1 features an unnamed female vocal group.

Label:    Prestige – PRT 7515
Country:    US
Released:    1973
Genre:    Jazz
Style:    Soul-Jazz
https://www.discogs.com/release/5962259-George-Braith-Musart

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