George
Braith
The soon to be
octogenerian multi-saxophonist George Braith (née Braithwaite, NYC, 1939) is
one of the very few reedmen to follow in the footsteps of the inimitable
Rahsaan Roland Kirk (1935-1977). In his sadly limited discography, Braith reveals
himself to also be uniquely eccentric talent in his approach to blowing
multiple horns both individually and simultaneously, as well as in his
composing. As a composer, Braith runs the gamut from soul jazz, to challenging
“squirrelly” changes (as John Patton called them), to Caribbean influenced
themes, to more atmospheric pieces. He eventually patented his unique
soprano/alto hybrid, the braithophone, that is joined at the bell. The bulk of
Braith’s reputation stems from the four recordings he appeared on for Blue Note
and two more on Prestige, all recorded in a short span between 1963 and 1967.
Though he has been active as a live performer in New York on and off since, has
also been involved in educational projects and released a few more recordings
in Japan and on his own.
Braith and his Braith-o-phone
Braith’s first
sessions for Blue Note were as a sideman for organist Big John Patton
(1935-2002) for the July and August 1963 sessions that produced Blue John (Blue Note 84143). The sessions
had masters picked and even received an issue number with a cover design from
the label. Although its thumbnail image appeared on later Patton records in the
60s, it was not released until 1986. It has remained largely out of print
since, with another reissue coming in 1995 and then an expanded edition in Japan
in 2015 containing what is, ostensibly, an entire unreleased record’s worth of
material. Braith contributes three compositions to the sessions. The first is
“Hot Sauce,” a playful track which he would record again three years later for his
own Laughing Soul (Prestige 7474,
1966) that also included bandmates from this session,
Patton’s working trio which also included guitarist Grant Green (1935-1979) and
drummer Ben Dixon (b. 1934). The second, “Bermuda Clay House,” which is the
first track included here, is a classic minor key straight ahead soul jazz
groover that has one of Braith’s finest solos on record, displaying his
unfettered facility on straight alto (known as the stritch) for a chorus before bringing in the soprano to end this solo with rhythmic
section-like shouts and for the tag leading into the closing head. A third,
“Chunky Cheeks,” would remain unissued until 2015, but a later recording of the
track was also done for Laughing Soul.
Braith was soon
recording as a leader for the label, recording Two Souls In One (Blue Note 84148) in September, 1963 and Soul Stream (Blue Note 84161) in
December of that same year. He did one last recording for Blue Note, the one
we’ll focus on here, Extension (Blue
Note 84171), in March of 1964. For all of his Blue Note records, Braith
employed the standard organ trio plus horn line-up that is so prevalent in soul
jazz records of the era, though the material deviates far from what you’d hear on,say, a record by other organists like Patton at that point in his career or
Freddie Roach. The organist on these sessions, Billy Gardner, had been active
and recording as a pianist in New York since at least 1960, appearing on
sessions led by drummer Dave Bailey, saxophonist Charlie Rouse and an early
Grant Green session from 1961. Gardner’s discography is also quite limited,
appearing only on a couple of sessions for Lou Donaldson, one for Houston
Person and a small band session for Johnny Hodges. His style, while steeped in the
deep blues and soul necessary for any organist of the era, also reveals an
exploratory bent, unusual tones, an ear for navigating Braith’s unusual changes
and a profound sensitivity on the more atmospheric tracks. Green is present on
all these sessions as well, among the many, many that he appeared on for Blue
Note both as leader and sideman from 1961-1966. Green has one of the most
immediately recognizable, singing sounds in jazz guitar and despite at times
being prone to falling back on some of his standard licks, the material,
particularly on Extension, reveals
some of Green’s most adventurous playing on record. A shifting line-up of
drummers (Donald Bailey, a veteran of organist Jimmy Smith’s groups, the unfortunately
under-recorded Hugh Walker, and underground legend Clarence Johnston) completes
the cast on these records, all displaying consummate professionalism, swing,
groove and taste navigating the wide range of composition and arrangements
Braith brought to the sessions.
Braith himself is
a remarkable soloist, with an unfettered facility as I mentioned before on both
the stritch and the soprano individually, a muscular tone on tenor and a
diverse, rhythmic approach to playing the double-horn parts that spices up
arrangements of standards, comps for bandmates, creates unusual textures on the
atmospheric compositions and ballads and pushes the envelope on his own solos.
From Two Souls In One, Braith’s appropriation
of “Mary Had A Little Lamb” is an unabashed soul jazz swinger with Gardner’s
driving bass line and drummer Donald Bailey pushing the band to their limit every
step of the way. Braith’s approach to rearranging more well-known material for
his two-horn attack is on full display here, along with his playful, yet
aggressive soloing that continuously builds tension throughout. Green is also
in fine form here, reaching a boiling point before giving way to soulful,
screaming solo from Gardner, here sounding reminiscent of his contemporary John
Patton, but still very much his own man.
The title track
from Soul Stream is an atmospheric
track with an unusual chord structure that seemingly finds no resolution until
finally settling in one tonal area towards the very end. Gardner conjures
different colors and textures for Braith’s melancholic lines, the track opening
up as it fades out. To these ears, this track foreshadows Eddie Harris’
atmospheric explorations from later in the decade, sans echoplex of course, and
is a true outlier in the sounds one “expects” from an organ combo from 1963. It
is also a clear precursor to the “Ethlyn’s Love,” the ballad on Extension.
Gardner’s tough,
minor key groover “Boop Bop Bing Bash” from this session is an often compiled
track and deservedly so. Braith contrasts his deep toned solo with double-horn
punches behind the soloists, Gardner showing himself at the vanguard of jazz
organ circa 1964 with echoes of Larry Young in his eloquent phrases, his bass
lines interacting and connecting beautifully with Walker’s superb drumming.
Extension is perhaps Braith’s
most fully realized record for Blue Note. Recorded over the course of several
days in March, 1964, it includes five Braith compositions and a very Braith-ian
arrangement of Cole Porter’s “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye.” Due to having to
record on borrowed horns because of the unfortunate robbery of his horns before
the session, Braith focuses more on single horn playing, with more tenor than
on any other recording of his. Braith’s dark tone on tenor is somewhere in the
territory straddling old and new that Yusef Lateef had been so beautifully
staking claim to since the late 50s with some Sonny Rollins gruffness thrown in
for good measure. Extension is also
an unconventional record for Blue Note for the period, eschewing an emerging
formula on the label that would be cemented into place for the next several
years with the success of Lee Morgan’s Sidewinder
(Blue Note 84157). This formula consisted of a groovy blues to open the record,
typically followed by either a ballad or more challenging composition and a
side-ending latin-oriented piece; the second side opened typically with another
cooker, followed by perhaps a second ballad and a mid-tempo piece, often a
standard, to close the record. What can you say…it works to great effect and a
good chunk of the classic Blue Note releases from the second half of the 60s
have this template in place. Here, on the other hand, we open with the intricate
6/8 dance of “Nut City,” sporting a Flamenco-ish chord movement in the A
sections before giving way to a more typical release. The soloists benefit
wonderfully from the rhythmic juxtapositions in the form, with Green and Braith
working in a plethora of dynamic motifs. Gardner’s tone on this record is more
personal than on any of the other recordings on which he can be almost confused
with Patton at times (or perhaps the other way around, who knows?). Not so here
as a more delicate, dark tone permeates the backgrounds, laying the groundwork
for the aforementioned ballad “Ethlyn’s Love,” a more fully elaborated
expression of some of the unorthodox chord movements in “Soul Stream.” The
tracks that follow, “Out Here” and “Extension” again show Braith’s penchant for
said harmonies, use of whole tone scale, stacked 4ths and augmented lines in
the melodies, unconventional resolutions and compositions. They meld the
harmonic and rhythmic sequences in a way that brings us in and out of familiar
and unfamiliar territory in unexpected ways and paint a portrait of one of jazz’s
most singular and practically forgotten personalities. “Out Here” builds off of an augmented motif, more
recognizable as a turnaround (which was indeed employed by the seminal blues
guitarist T-Bone Walker) before placing us on a path with unforeseen twists and
turns. Grant Green’s playing here is of particular note in contrast to
virtually all his recordings. stepping outside of his usual comfort zone,
exploring this new terrain with a cautious aplomb. Braith’s tenor takes a
different path into the exploration of 4ths than Eddie Harris, along with many
other melodic leaps, weaving a tapestry of ideas tastefully cradled by the
sympathetic comping of Gardner and Johnston. Gardner is also notable again, his
embellishments of the harmonies during his solos making the eccentricity of said harmonies shine. Many of these compositions are an evolutionary expression of
Monkish harmonic and melodic sensibilities ("Sweetville"), though once again Braith’s own
personality is what is most evident, a tributary voice within jazz’s evolutive
continuum. Extension’s title track
incorporates the main melodic motif of Clifford Brown’s “Daahoud” into a wider
palette. A challenging piece with a tight arrangement, tenor with echoes of
Sonny Rollins and impeccably placed two-horn shouts, it also has, once again, Grant Green finding a new context
for his familiar voice, digging in to the changes with a no-nonsense directness
that highlights the virtues of his harmonic approach.
With Larry Young and Roy Haynes, 1964
There are other
stories and photos of Braith from the era that place him in the best company
possible in jazz in the mid-60s, with icons (Coltrane), underground legends
(bassist Albert Stinson) emerging stars (Roy Ayers) beyond his recording
companions, among others. His mohawk hairdo, another nod to Rollins, sharing
the stage with Larry Young and Roy Haynes is a fitting snapshot of what Braith
embodied musically at the time: a unique musician searching, pushing the envelope with
like-minded musicians who are also conscious of their place within the evolving art of
jazz. Braith would record only two
more records in the era: the aforementioned, and ultimately disappointing, Laughing Soul and the more exploratory Musart, which we will revisit at a later date on this blog. His Musart studio predates and grows into the 70s loft scene, more
notably recognized in Sam Rivers’ Studio Rivbea and the Wildflowers recordings on Douglas.
Braith’s long
recording silence following his output in the 60s prods the imagination as to where things
went, though Musart perhaps maps at
least some of that ground. Nonetheless, his Blue Note recordings are yet
another example of the almost endless well of chromatic hues and explosive,
unique and often eccentric creativity that so many now almost-forgotten figures
had to offer. So it goes…
jg
******************************************************
All tracks
composed by George Braith, except as noted.
From John Patton Blue John (Blue Note 84143)
Rec. August 2,
1963
George Braith-
stritch, soprano sax; Grant Green- guitar; John Patton- organ; Ben Dixon-
drums.
1. Bermuda Clay
House
From Two Souls In One (Blue Note 84148)
Recorded
September 4, 1963
George Braith-
stritch, soprano sax; Grant Green- guitar; Billy Gardner- organ; Donald Bailey-
drums
2. Mary Had A
Little Lamb (trad.)
From Soul Stream (Blue Note 84161)
Recorded December
16, 1963
Personnel as
above, except Hugh Walker replaces Bailey on drums.
3. Soul Stream
4. Boop, Bop,
Bing, Bash (Billy Gardner)
Extension (Blue Note
84171)
Recorded March
24-27, 1964
Personnel as
above, except Clarence Johnston is on drums.
5. Nutville
6. Ethlyn’s Love
7. Out Here
8. Extension
9. Sweetville
10. Ev’ry Time We
Say Goodbye (Cole Porter)