Enters the Hall of Fame
By Bill Meyer
Anthony Braxton enters the DownBeat Hall of Fame after turning 80 in June. The bandleader, improviser, composer, educator, unwaveringly positive philosopher and player of all the saxophones from sopranino through contrabass, continues to release music at a blistering pace and of a the highest of high art quality. For that, the critics applaud him and his audacious career.
By Aaron Cohen
By Ammar Kalia
By Jim Macnie
By The Critics
Buster Williams, who at the age of 83 has been on the scene for 65 years, had never done a Blindfold Test. The first for the legendary, Camden, NJ-born bassist was hosted by the jazz studies program at New York University. More than 30 students attended, as did a few faculty members, including drummer Lenny White. For two hours, Williams spoke of his own storied career, as much as responded to the bass-focused recordings played for him. At the close of the session, he saluted the young musicians on their career choice. “People in your family that love you, like your grandmother and your mother, will ask you, ‘What are you going to do if it doesn’t work out? What’s your back door?’ My father told me, ‘There ain’t no back door!’ There’s only one door, and when you’re in, you’re in. When I chose music, I was trapped. What a great entrapment. So congratulations to all of you. You could have chosen to work for the Federal government.”
