Nonaah

Roscoe Mitchell’s composition “Nonaah” is infinitely mutable; it first appeared on the Art Ensemble of Chicago’s Fanfare for the Warriors, and he’s arranged it for all sorts of ensembles in the roughly five decades since writing it. On the almost literally stunning solo version that opens this double CD, he plays its opening five-note figure over and over, more and more harshly and aggressively, for nearly ten minutes straight, gradually subduing an audience that had been expecting Anthony Braxton. There are some gentle and beautiful passages as well, and by the end the crowd is roaring its appreciation, but as a gesture of self-determination and artistic resilience it’s virtually unmatched in avant-garde music history. It overshadows the rest of this double LP, which also features duos with Braxton and bassist Malachi Favors, a trio piece with pianist Muhal Richard Abrams and trombonist George Lewis, and a four-alto-sax version of “Nonaah” featuring Henry Threadgill, Joseph Jarman, and Wallace McMillan.