Records: Anthony Braxton; Music: Alice Cooper & Suzie Quatro

Anthony Braxton

Anthony Braxton, New York, Fall 1974, Arista AL 4032

A talent rare as Anthony Braxton's has long been beguiled by the cowardice and/or ignorance of the major record companies. With the appearance of this Arista release, Braxton will become no household word, but will get the widespread distribution that he sorely deserves.

Anthony Braxton surfaced from the obscurity of his Chicago origins (on Delmark with Richard Abrams, Lester Bowie, et al) through his association with Chick Corea and their group "Circle." Since then, he has appeared on other ECM dates, including his own four-sided alto saxophone solo, the virtual Iliad and Odyssey of modern jazz.

New York, Fall 1974 attests to Braxton's skill as a composer-arranger rather than as a solo artist. Perhaps "daring" better describes some of his compositions, as he is constantly trying to expand his idiom into grounds that are unfamiliar for most "jazz" musicians. Herein are contained a saxophone quartet, a duet for clarinet and synthesizer as well as some quartet work with Ornette Coleman's familiar instrumentation: alto, trumpet, bass and drums.

Ornette's influence has been well-digested by Braxton. The first and last cuts on the first side are shaped like Ornette's compositions. A short statement of the subject gives way to some eight-to-the-bar, hard-charging soloing with Dave Holland holding it all down with his clean and energetic bass playing. Jerome Cooper, late of the Revolutionary Ensemble, keeps time like a sundial: with a plain profundity.

Braxton's soloing is urgent, rushing, unrelenting. It is momentary and thoughtful and thoroughly original. There is little line to be read in his solos, either in exposition or development, yet his rhythmic conception is engaging and powerful. While never abandoning the meter, he ignores it artfully in the manner of the maestro, Sonny Rollins.

Trumpeter Kenny Wheeler has to be heard to believe that he himself is unheard of in the United States. His command of the horn is undeniable and he solos as interestingly as anybody blowing nowadays. This cat is surely to be heard from.

Perhaps it is taste, but I find Braxton more palatable when he confines his conception to forms that allow the spontaneous to greater degree. His name is not Anthony Bartok and I think his ventures into the realm of pure composition are dangerous ones. As a serious and fast-maturing musician, these attempts are, nevertheless, well worth our attention. There are moments of great beauty here and I would consider it a wise investment. So get your welfare check cashed and head to the nearest record store that serves the interest of today's beatniks.

David Weiss

Alice Cooper & Suzie Quatro
at Olympia

My first reaction to the 1975 Alice Cooper Show was, I don't need to view any more nightmares, thanks but no thanks. But the experience actually turned out to be quite enjoyable.

Alice apparently tired of his old image and has been working on his new show and and band for some time now. He uses his musicians almost exclusively now for their musical ability, as opposed to their level of charisma. Featured artists included Detroit's own Steve Hunter (formerly of DETROIT and Lou Reed), and Dick Wagner (formerly of Frost) on guitars. The band played hard and electric, driving rock and roll in the Motor City tradition.

Also featured were four dancers, actors, harmony singers and quick change artists, all of whom remained nameless. Costuming was elaborate, with everything from a giant black widow spider to a 12-foot tall laser-eyed cyclops.

One interesting effect in the show was a huge movie screen background cut into vertical strips, about 4" wide, so that people could easily jump through the imagery. The tune "Welcome to My Nightmare" began with a movie of Alice stumbling around in a graveyard. He comes upon a neon gravestone with his name on it, whereupon Alice flips and begins smashing the stone as the four dancers appear, forcing Alice into a coffin which they nail shut. The camera angle changes to a straight-on shot of the coffin, and you see Alice's fist and head breaking through the coffin as he breaks through the movie screen onto the stage. Alice's screen image folds up behind him, and the dancers, still on the screen, carry on with the show never missing a step, alternating back and forth between screen and reality.

The amount time and work necessary to produce the show must have been enormous, what with the intricate choreography, acting, set and costuming changes with each tune. Is Alice trying to convince us that lie is a serious performer? Will we get to be forty years old with Alice hosting a prime-time variety show? (Roll Over Ed Sullivan.)

Shows like this usually come without music good enough to stand on its own. But the Cooper show synthesized good jams with eccentric, intriguing theatricality. Alice, while obviously trying to be commercial, does confront a lot of American standards, moral and otherwise, and his fans know it. It's part of his appeal. (I really liked the old Cooper Christmas show where the grand finale had Santa Claus being beat up in front of the American flag.) The very young crowd, incidentally, loved every minute of it.

Suzi Quatro, another Detroiter like Alice, opened the show, coming off waves of European success and a hit record, "Your Mama Won't Like Me." Complete with a cover story in Rolling Stone, Suzi's press outdid her live show by far.

The act is largely unimaginative. The Themes of teenage sex don't have to be crass, but the leather, grunts and grease presentation just didn't make it. Suzi will be around for a while, and could eventually come up with something worthwhile. At least having a woman in front of all those amps is a healthy image for distribution.

-Kathy Kelley

A scene from Alice's nightmare.
photo: Kathy Kelley