Anthony Braxton’s Birthday Celebration Continues With Trillium J

Esteemed American composer, musician, educator, recording artist and philosopher Anthony Braxtoncontinues his 69^th birthday season with the premiere of his latest multimedia opera, Trillium J (The Non-Unconfessionables) at Roulette in Brooklyn April 17–19. The semi-staged, four-act opera is being presented as part of the two-weekend Tri-Centric Music Festival produced by Braxton’s Tri-Centric Foundation, where audiences—or “friendly-experiencers,” as the prolific MacArthur Fellow, Doris Duke Performing Artist and recently-named NEA Jazz Master likes to refer to his listeners—will have the option of experiencing two acts at a time on two separate evenings, or attending a full day with the first two acts presented as a matinee and the second two acts presented that same evening. Please see below for full cast and performance details.

Crucial to the mission of Braxton’s Tri-Centric Foundation is the cultivation of a vibrant community of creative musicians, of which Trillium J—with its cast of 12 vocalists, 12 instrumental soloists, two dancers and 37-piece orchestra—is a shining example. Led by a team that includes Braxton (composer, librettist, conductor),Acushla Bastible (director), Chris Jonas (video director) and Taylor Ho Bynum (producer), the production brings together over 60 artists to explore new ideas of opera and performance. The work clearly demonstrates the technical rigor and improvisational magic for which Braxton is famed, but also features broad humor, sly satire and a broad appreciation of the unexpected. Philosophical insight is balanced with moments of absurdist surprise—offering multiple levels of appreciation to listeners both familiar with Braxton’s canon and those new to his work.

Following the premiere the project will move into the studio to be recorded and released as a CD/DVD box set in the spring of 2015. The set will incorporate both live video and animation in order to fully document this massive work.

Braxton has identified the Trillium opera cycle as the ongoing project closest to his heart. Once complete, he envisions an interlinked “opera complex” of 36 acts where each chapter also exists as a stand-alone opera. Three have been performed so far: Trillium A (one act, fully staged in San Diego in 1985), Trillium M (two acts, in a concert performance in London in 1994) and Trillium R (four acts, fully staged in NYC in 1996). The performances of Trillium M and Trillium R both resulted in CD releases, and the four-act Trillium E was recorded in the studio in 2010 and commercially released the following year. Braxton is currently in the final stages of Trillium X (four acts), which will bring him more than halfway to his ultimate goal.

The settings of the various acts of the Trillium cycle range from corporate board meetings to interplanetary space travel. Trillium J includes portrayals of the completion of the intercontinental railroad, a garden of anthropomorphized animals accused of corruption and fraud, a murder mystery in a haunted house and two trials—one by gangsters and one by jury. Each act occurs within these specific dramatic contexts, but there is no overarching narrative structure; rather, the interest is in how the characters interact within the parameters of these situations. However, the “apparent story” is just one of three levels; underlying each act are the “philosophical” and “mystical” dynamics that so deeply inform Braxton’s libretto and music.

“Events in this sound world attempt to act out a given central concept from many different points of view,” Braxton explains. “There is no single story line in Trillium because there is no point of focus being generated. Instead the audience is given a multi-level event state that fulfills vertical and horizontal strategies (objectives). The wonder of this approach brings a fresh vitality to the music and will allow for a broad range of interpretations. I believe that the medium of opera is directly relevant to cultural alignment and evolution.”

Taking a cue from Braxton’s “Tri-Axium” philosophical writings exploring the “partials” of his life’s work—music (sound logic) systems, thought (philosophical) systems, and ritual and ceremonial (belief) systems—the decision to publicly celebrate his 69^th birthday (a number divisible by three) is a natural one. The season continues through the fall of 2014 with the release of a series of CD box sets of new material: Trio (New Haven) 2013, a 4-CD set of Braxton performing with two of contemporary improvisation’s leading drummers,Tom Rainey and Tomas Fujiwara; 12 Duets (DCWM) 2012, a 12-CD set presenting Braxton in dialogue with three distinctive duet partners: violinist Erica Dicker, vocalist Kyoko Kitamura and bassoonist Katherine Young; and 3 Compositions (EEMHM) 2011, a 3-CD set documenting Braxton’s newest composition system, Echo Echo Mirror House Music, featuring Braxton’s long-running septet with Taylor Ho Bynum (brass),Jessica Pavone (viola), Mary Halvorson (guitar), Jay Rozen (tuba), Carl Testa (bass) and Aaron Siegel(percussion). More information on these recordings is available separately.

Thursday, April 17
Anthony Braxton: Trillium J (The Non-Unconfessionables) (Acts I & II)
8 p.m. at Roulette
http://roulette.org/events/anthony-braxtons-trillium-j-the-non-unconfessionables-acts-i-ii/

Friday, April 18
Anthony Braxton: Trillium J (The Non-Unconfessionables) (Acts III & IV)
8 p.m. at Roulette
http://roulette.org/events/anthony-braxtons-trillium-j-the-non-unconfessionables-acts-iii-iv/

Saturday, April 19
Anthony Braxton: Trillium J (The Non-Unconfessionables) (Acts I & II)
3 p.m. at Roulette
http://roulette.org/events/anthony-braxtons-trillium-j-the-non-unconfessionables-acts-i-ii-2/

Saturday, April 19
Anthony Braxton: Trillium J (The Non-Unconfessionables) (Acts III & IV)
8 p.m. at Roulette
http://roulette.org/events/anthony-braxtons-trillium-j-the-non-unconfessionables-acts-iii-iv-2/

Cast:

Zakko—Roland Burks, bass
Ashmenton—Kelvin Chan, baritone
Joreo—Tomas Cruz, tenor
Helena—Lucy Dhegrae, soprano
Bubba John Jack—Chris DiMeglio, baritone
Alva—Kristin Fung, mezzo-soprano
David—Nick Hallett, tenor
Ntzockie—Kyoko Kitamura, soprano
Sundance—Kamala Sankaram, soprano
Kim—Elizabeth Saunders, mezzo-soprano
Shala—Jen Shyu, soprano
Ojuwain—Vince Vincent, tenor

Instrumental Soloists:

Vincent Chancey, French horn
Domenica Fossati, flute
Jacob Garchik, baritone horn
Jim Hobbs, alto saxophone
Ingrid Laubrock, soprano saxophone
Oscar Noriega, clarinet
Dan Peck, tuba
Reut Regev, trombone
Stephanie Richards, trumpet
Katie Scheele, English horn
Josh Sinton, bass clarinet
Libby Van Cleve, oboe

Dancers:

Rachel Bernsen
Melanie Maar

Orchestra:

Violin
Erica Dicker (concertmaster)
Renee Baker
Sam Bardfeld
Sarah Bernstein
Julianne Carney
Jason Hwang
Mazz Swift
Scott Tixier

Viola
Amy Cimini
Jessica Pavone
Erin Wight

Cello
Marika Hughes
Tomeka Reid
Tomas Ulrich

Bass
Ken Filiano
Mark Helias

Flute
Leah Paul
Domenica Fossati

Oboe/English horn
Kathy Halvorson
Katie Scheele
Libby Van Cleve

Clarinet/saxophone
Mike McGinnis
Jim Hobbs
Ingrid Laubrock
Oscar Noriega
Josh Sinton

Bassoon
Sara Schoenbeck
Katherine Young

French horn
Nathan Koci
Vincent Chancey

Trumpet
Gareth Flowers
Stephanie Richards

Trombone
Jacob Garchik
Reut Regev

Tuba
Dan Peck

Percussion
David Shively

Harp
Jacqui Kerrod

Production:

Anthony Braxton, Conductor/Composer/Librettist
Taylor Ho Bynum, Producer/Assistant Conductor
Acushla Bastible, Director
Louisa Proske, Associate Director
Chris Jonas, Video Director
Dylan McLaughlin, Associate Video Director
Rachel Bernsen, Choreographer
Amy Crawford, Sound Design
Kyoko Kitamura, Assistant Producer
Tyler Rai, Production Assistant
Yi Zhao, Lighting designer
Nikki Delhomme, Costume Designer
Desiree Alejandro, Stage Manager

Braxton is recognized as one of the most important musicians, educators, and creative thinkers of the past 50 years, highly esteemed in the creative music community for the revolutionary quality of his work and for the mentorship and inspiration he has provided to generations of younger musicians. Drawing upon a disparate mix of influences from John Coltrane to Karlheinz Stockhausen to Native American music, Braxton has created a unique musical system that celebrates the concept of global creativity and our shared humanity. His work examines core principles of improvisation, structural navigation and ritual engagement—innovation, spirituality and intellectual investigation. His many accolades include a 1981 Guggenhiem Fellowship, a 1994 MacArthur Fellowship, a 2013 Doris Duke Performing Artist Award and a 2014 NEA Jazz Master Award.

The Tri-Centric Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that supports the ongoing work and legacy of Anthony Braxton while also cultivating and inspiring the next generation of creative artists to pursue their own visions with the kind of idealism and integrity Braxton has demonstrated throughout his distinguished career.

The term “Tri-Centric” derives from Braxton’s three-volume collection of philosophical investigations, The Tri-Axium Writings. Braxton believes creative thinking cannot be reduced to dichotomies, but must embrace multiple perspectives. For instance, music is not only composed or improvised, but also includes intuition. We must not only consider the past and the present, but also the future. It is not always this or that, it is often the other.

Tri-Centric exists to vigorously advocate for the crucial role risk-taking art plays in maintaining the health and vibrancy of our culture. Through a commitment to innovation, self-sufficiency, and artistic ambition, the organization looks to create a new model of artist empowerment and offer a supportive community to those in pursuit of “trans-idiomatic” creativity.

Roulette began in 1978 as a spontaneous presentation of work by artists in a loft on West Broadway. Roulette is now an internationally recognized experimental contemporary art center, fulfilling its mission to support artists through presenting a substantial and diverse program of experimental music, dance and Intermedia, commissioning new work, paying the artists professional fees, and finding artists an audience interested in learning about traditions and developments in these art forms.

Roulette has developed collateral programs that are direct responses to the particular needs of artists for money, information, and rehearsal space, and that also serve the public of our tri-state area. Roulette has broadened audiences for this kind of work through television productions and Internet programs which now reach audiences all over the world.