Quotes by Anthony Braxton

About Anthony Braxton:

Anthony Braxton is an American composer and instrumentalist. Braxton has released well over 100 albums since the 1960s. Among the instruments he plays are the sopranino, soprano, C-melody, F mezzo-soprano, E-flat alto, baritone, bass, and contrabass saxophones; the E-flat, B-flat, and contrabass clarinets; and the piano. He used to play flute and alto flute as well, but has since discontinued his use of these instruments.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Everybody in America is angry about something.

Anthony Braxton

I'm seeking to have an art that is engaged as a way for saying, 'Hurray for unity.'

Anthony Braxton

For the most basic assumption that dictated my early attempts to respond to creative music commentary was the mistaken belief that western journalists had some fundamental understanding of black creativity—or even western creativity—but this assu...

Anthony Braxton

I have learned through time that not everyone is interested in the kinds of things that fascinate me.

Anthony Braxton

I am interested in the study of music and the discipline of music and the experience of music and music as a esoteric mechanism to continue my real intentions.

Anthony Braxton

Growing up in the '50s and being in the '60s, in that revolutionary time space, I thought freedom was what I was looking for. Slowly but surely, it became clear that the last thing I was interested in was freedom. Because if you're going to be free, ...

Anthony Braxton

So, yes, I am in the underground, but actually, it feels like home.

Anthony Braxton

I thank the Creator of the universe to have discovered the discipline of music was the greatest gift that I could have been given, the possibility to be a student working in the world.

Anthony Braxton

The word music is a convenient way to talk about what I'm interested in, but actually, in some ways, it's a limitation.

Anthony Braxton

I had never thought that I would be involved in narrative structures. As a young guy, I was more interested in abstract modeling. But as I got older, I began to see that there was no reason to limit myself to any intellectual or conceptual postulate,...

Anthony Braxton

Most African Americans, especially the men and women from my generation, would accept the nationalist gambit that says only European Americans can be racists, which is an interesting gambit.

Anthony Braxton

I am viewed as the Negro who has gone outside of the categories assigned to me.

Anthony Braxton

I would find myself backing away from all of the 'isms', all of the communities. I have always been able to be misused by every community But that is OK. I would rather be misused than neglected.

Anthony Braxton

My work has been marginalized as far as the jazz-business complex is concerned, or the contemporary-music complex.

Anthony Braxton

Author Bio

  • NameAnthony Braxton
  • DescriptionAmerican musician, composer, and philosopher
  • BornJune 4, 1945
  • CountryUnited States Of America
  • ProfessionPianist; Composer; Clarinetist; Music Educator; Jazz Musician
  • AwardsGuggenheim Fellowship; MacArthur Fellows Program