Anthony Braxton, György Szabados, Vladimir Tarasov
Triotone
Leo Records: CD LR 416 
http://www.leorecords.com/?r=4&m=select&id=CD_LR_416

* Anthony Braxton: reeds
* György Szabados: piano
* Vladimir Tarasov: percussion

Recorded on 13 September 2003 live at the 9th festival of jazz and
improvised music in Kanizsa, Serbia-Montenegro at Art House, Cnesa.

Reviews
~~~~~~
By Ken Waxman 
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=18541

Perhaps Anthony Braxton's most uncommon yet satisfying CD of the past decade,
TrioTone is memorable because the American saxophonist functions as part of an
improvising trio rather than promulgating his own ideas.

Recorded on a busman's holiday to Serbia-Montenegro in 2003, the disc features
Braxton operating as one-third of a cooperative trio convened to play two
compositions by Hungarian pianist György Szabados, which led to three subsequent
encore/improvisations. Braxton, who is always up for unique collaborations,
played and recorded with Szabados in the early '80s. Adding luster to the match
up is the presence of former Ganelin Trio percussionist Vladimir Tarasov, who is
based in Vilnius, Lithuania.

"Trioton," the 32-minute showpiece of the CD, reflects those compositional
smarts. Organized in a theatrical fashion, with each musician expressing his
delineated role, there are times when the piece could be a radio drama with the
instruments taking the place of the actors' voices. Zestful and refreshing, the
thirty-plus minutes flash by with the speed of a three-minute pop song. Set up
by gentle clinks on Tarasov's cymbals, claves and bells, interspersed with
silences, the initial statement arises from the flutter and buzz of Braxton's
saxophone plus single low-frequency piano chords from the composer.

Soon Szabados' wiggling arpeggios have been dynamically transformed into a
two-handed prelude that's reminiscent of some of Cecil Taylor's orchestral
work. With taps, rattles, and shakes from the percussionist operating as a bed
on which the disciplined close voicing of the piano keys lie to extend the
theme, Braxton moves to the forefront, working out oblique double-tongued
variations. Behind him, Szabados' contributions reflect his dual background, at
times as straightforward as Wynton Kelly, often this side of florid, as per a
romantic recital pattern. Rumbled snares and toms midway through cause the
saxman to reed bites as his higher overtones vibrate out a secondary,
complementary theme.

A reminder of Tarasov's little-heard dexterity, Braxton's teamwork as an
instrumentalist, and the scope of Szabados' compositional power almost unknown
in the West, TrioTone is an archetypal achievement.

--

By Matthew Sumera 
http://www.onefinalnote.com/reviews/b/braxton-anthony/triotone.asp

By John Fordham 
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2005/jan/07/classicalmusicandopera.jazz

By Dan Warburton 
http://www.bagatellen.com/archives/reviews/000734.html