1. Composition No. 278 by Anthony Braxton [69:05]

Anthony Braxton: Eb and Bb clarinets, Soprano, F, Alto, bari, bass and contrabass saxophones
James Fei: Bb and bass clarinets, soprano and alto saxophones
Brian Glick: tenor and bari saxophones
Chris Jonas: soprano and tenor saxophones
Steve Lehman: Alto Saxophone
Seth Misterka: Alto Saxophone
Jackson Moore: Alto Saxophone
Kevin O’Neil: Electric Guitar
Seth Dellinger: Contrabass
Kevin Norton: Percussion

Compositions No. 277 and 278 were first performed during Jazz à Vienne on July 11th, 2000 and during Jazz em Agosto in Lisbon on August 1st, 2000, respectively. While everyone in the ensemble felt that we had made further strides in tackling the Second Species of Braxton’s Ghost Trance Music, the quality of the recordings turned out to be poor and deemed unsuitable for release. Frustrated by this all too familiar situation, Braxton reconvened the musicians a few months later to record these compositions in the studio. The present recordings document a phase where the tentet continued to experiment-with and expand-on the quadrant approach that started with performances such as Compositions No. 219/221 for Three Orchestras (New Braxton House) and the Yoshi’s Ninetet recordings from 1997 (dividing the ensemble into simultaneous layers of GTM, secondary/tertiary compositions, language music, and “secret strategies”). The previously released tentet recordings on New Braxton House from Antwerp in December 2000 documents the continuation of this evolution. —JF