Review: BBC PROMS: PROM 35: ELLINGTON, BRAXTON AND MARY LOU WILLIAMS

Two giants of the jazz world and one composer who has had vast influence on modern music made up a mixed, but interesting, evening at the BBC Prom 35 in the ever-majestic Royal Albert Hall.

We began with a quartet of Duke Ellington's compositions, orchestrated by Morton Gould, who gave a distinctly old Hollywood feel to the music. The 1934 "Solitude" kicked off the evening, one of Ellington's most alluring ballads. "Mood Indigo" followed, the dreamy ballad represents Ellington at his most subdued and wistful; a feeling expertly captured in the song's arrangement.

"Sophisticated Lady" sauntered in next, with its gentle and, indeed, sophisticated sound. "Caravan" ended this section, sounding as exotic, smoky and mysterious as ever. A pure delight, if a little polite at times.

Conductor Ilan Volkov is hugely expressive in his work and you can tell that his relationship with the excellent BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra is long and intimate. He drew intelligent rhythms from the orchestra and showed he is as passionate and energetic as ever.

At the heart of the bee-bop world, Mary Lou Williams’s chamber jazz Zodiac Suite from 1945 romps between boogie-woogie and dissonance in its response to astrological signs. Twelve movements, written in tribute to her friends across the jazz world, she premiered the music on a solo piano on her own radio show. Williams used filmic scoring, particularly in "Libra" which contains really lush strings, a tribute to her great friend Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Art Tatum and Bud Powell.

The Aaron Diehl Trio was joined by Brandon Lee on trumpet, clarinet and saxophone played by Chris Lewis and soprano Mikaela Bennett who sang the only vocal in "Pisces" beautifully. It was an incredibly well-rounded and resonant piece of playing by all involved and will hopefully encourage more of Williams' work to be played.

American experimentalism ended the evening. Anthony Braxton is a highly respected composer and one of the most prolific artists in what is called free jazz, where he is seen by some as a master of improvisation. From his radical mind, this unstructured, often discordant, angular-sounding music is not always a comfortable listen and was a brave choice for the programme. Braxton himself was due to play at the Prom, but unfortunately withdrew due to health reasons.

The piece consisted of three soloists, three conductors and multiple compositions played at the same time bringing together "Composition No.27" with a range of other compositions. With Ingrid Laubrock on saxophone, James Fei as saxophone/conductor and Katherine Young bassoon/conductor, using something called "language music"; at any point, any conductor can hold up a number to indicate a section of the composition.

This leans into Braxton's idea that all compositions are linked together, leading to improvised openness. Sometimes the whole orchestra will play, sometimes just a section and Braxton encourages as little rehearsal as possible.

There were moments of great intensity, but also points where the progression through the music felt too random. It is worth remembering that, in his time, Duke Ellington himself had critics who had problems with his style of composition and, while there was rapturous applause afterwards, this section of the evening was not for everyone and did not always work as well as Braxton's work can. 

However, one of the great things about the Proms is being introduced to new music, new work and you can always find interest and intrigue. This version of Braxton's music will never be played in this form again, such is the nature of his composition, and that is a wonderful thing to have witnessed.

The BBC Proms continues at the Royal Albert Hall until 14 September

Photo Credits: BBC/ Sisi Burn

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