Thumbscrew - The Anthony Braxton Project

2020 release

Thumbscrew is  TOMAS FUJIWARA : Drums and Vibraphone,  MARY HALVORSON : Guitar,  MICHAEL FORMANEK : Bass.

 Celebrating Anthony Braxton on his 75th birthday, THUMBSCREW digs into the Tricentric Archives, focusing on previously unrecorded pieces by the legendary composer, multi-wind master and bandleader. The all-star collective trio releases it's fifth album for Cuneiform, The Anthony Braxton Project. For fans familiar with Braxton's music the project offers a whole new window into his genius for designing protean musical situations pregnant with possibilities. Those less acquainted with his work might find themselves enthralled and amazed by the sheer diversity of rhythmic and melodic material explored by Thumbscrew.  

Invited to explore the Tri-Centric Foundation's voluminous Braxton archives in New Haven, Conn. As part of the Braxton75 celebration, the trio spent a long afternoon looking for rarely played pieces that could fit their instrumental palette. "The idea was for us to choose compositions of Anthony's, mostly early compositions, which hadn't been previously recorded (or, in a couple cases, recorded only once or twice)," says Halvorson. "We chose pieces that captured our imagination and that we thought would work well for the instrumentation of guitar, bass, and drums or vibraphone. Our choices included graphic scores, complex notated pieces, and everything in between." All three of the musicians of Thumbscrew have had significant performing and / or study opportunities with Braxton, so they all can approach this music as 'insiders'.