Anthony Braxton has received numerous awards as a distinguished composer, conductor and teacher, for his intricate arrangement of quirky jazz melodies.
On Thursday evening, a free concert in Slee Hall featuring the piano and percussion duo of Haewon Min and Kevin Norton presented the unique music of the multi-talented Braxton.
The two entered briskly and positioned themselves at their respective instruments. Norton, a well-recognized percussionist and composer, accompanied Min at her piano to lead the show.
Similar to the style and sounds of the jazz trio Medeski, Martin and Wood, their program began with the piano and xylophone imitating each other's every note, beat and melody. As one musician sped up their distinct rhythm, the other did as well.
Like the music, the program given was abstract, geared toward a technically experienced audience. Flow chart diagrams were the only way of tracking their program of songs. A structure of dotted lines, rectangles, arrows and the number 60 constituted the title of one of the many rhythms played by the duo.
Working as each other's shadow made up most of their talented but somewhat monotonous two-hour performance. The piano predominantly competed against the xylophone. It was up to each listener in the sparse audience to form their own interpretation of the music's story.
"I think the sounds of Min and Norton are really great playing separately and playing together," said junior psychology and exercise science major Julia Schwartzman. "But I can't figure out if they are battling each other or if they are a team."
The difference between each instrument was harshly distinctive in style and sound. However, together their rhythm-less beats became their own inventive entity.
Creating the ambiance of a poetry reading in the So-Ho district, the duo did not seem to progress beyond the boundaries their composer had set. Although their sounds were intriguing, this style of music is an acquired taste.
Because there were no catchy beats for the listener to hang on to, the music seemed to lack focus, although the soft and gentle touches of their hands to their instruments were inviting.
In the second act of the performance, the individual musicians had spotlight performances while the other remained behind the stage.
During her solo performance, Min delivered on her ability to capture Braxton's music so precisely, as she created the sounds of a soft rain shower, each drop falling at its own particular time with different rates of speed eventually growing into a downpour.
Following Min's performance was a one-on-one with the renowned percussionist Norton. For the first time seated at his drum set, an unsuspecting audience flinched when he suddenly made a hard, passion-induced strike to his drum kit.
Like Min, much of Norton's solo performance was fashioned around the element of fluctuating speeds. His upbeat rhythms made a listener want to dance but he would quickly break the mood with slow gentle sweeps to one of his many cymbals. Close listening was a necessary key to hearing his cymbals
Norton thumped his foot drum so powerfully it looked as if it was going to topple over at any given moment. The force behind each strike gave the music the distinctive style the composer was looking for when designing such a unique style of jazz.
Following the unaccompanied performances of the two musicians, they reunited to recreate the first act of their open composition in the final performance. Many of the same battling sounds repeated from the piano and xylophone.
Although the players showed off their talent, and at times passion, the enjoyment of their performance was based more on how the listener felt about Braxton's composition.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
