Entony Braxton

Most modern-day female pop singers start their careers doing their sexy, stylish dance-oriented material then settle into a career as an adult contemporary crooner. Toni Braxton didn't follow that route. She started the '90s singing elegant, refined quiet storm ballads and ended it singing sleek dance-pop tunes as she slinked around in skimpy outfits. She wasn't the only one of her peers to follow this trajectory – Mariah Carey pretty much did the same thing, only to the extreme – but it's a little odd to listen to Braxton evolve from the sophisticated urban contemporary crooner to oversexed R&B thrush, even if it's not a bad thing at all. One thing that elevated Braxton above her peers is that she was a controlled, powerful singer who rarely oversang, and she had a good selection of material, much of it written or co-written by Babyface. That's why her 18-track hits collection Ultimate Toni Braxton works well even through her shifts in style – she is a confident enough performer to sell both the slow romantic ballads and material that swings harder.

"Playlist: The Very Best of Toni Braxton" is the fourth greatest hits compilation released by Braxton, following "The Essential Toni Braxton, in 2007. The album was released on October 28, 2008, by Legacy Recordings, being part of Sony BMG's Playlist series. The tracklist contains Braxton most successful singles, with a few different tracks, such as "A Better Man" from her fourth studio album, "More Than a Woman" (2002), "Maybe", a single from "The Heat" and an Hex Hector remix for "Spanish Guitar". Enhanced section includes the interactive digital booklet with liner notes, photos and more.

Anthony Braxton’s new recording Duo (Improv) 2017 to be released on his 75th birthday June 4th.

Braxton had long been fond of working with improvising wind ensembles. In fact, the earliest incarnation of what would become the World Saxophone Quartet appeared on his landmark Arista album, New York, Fall, 1974. So his collaboration with the ROVA quartet, perhaps the most important practitioners of the form after the WSQ, came as no surprise…

Braxton released a number of solo alto saxophone albums in the wake of his extraordinary For Alto recorded in 1968, all of which are both fascinating documents in their own right as well as glimpses into the mechanisms which underlie his music. This live set from Wesleyan University in 1992 is no exception. One evolutionary difference here is that around this time Braxton began incorporating into his solo concerts a strategy he had developed during the '80s for his quartet: collage procedures. This means that, while initially playing one composition, he allowed himself the option of interpolating others as he saw fit, making for an even wider array of "sound spaces" available for exploration. Indeed, the range he covers is amazing…

As her 1993 blockbuster debut approached its 25th anniversary, Toni Braxton proceeded to collect accolades while moving forward. Her duets album with Babyface was designated Best R&B Album in 2015 by the Recording Academy – making her a Grammy winner in three decades – and the connection with her foundational audience was reaffirmed in 2017 with a Soul Train Legend Award. Her every-few-years release schedule was maintained with this short album, in which she responds to a habitually philandering lover with her distinctive mix of fire and finesse. This has more of the former element than any previous Braxton release.

The band Anthony Braxton assembled for this unique exploration of the compositions of Thelonious Monk is one of the wonders of the composer's retinue. Braxton, pianist Mal Waldron, bassist Buell Neidlinger, and drummer Bill Osborne use six Monk tunes and go hunting for harmonic invention; in order, they are "Brilliant Corners," "Reflections," "Played Twice," "Four in One," "Ask Me Now," and "Skippy." From the jump, the listener can tell this is no ordinary Monk tribute. The music is fast, skittering along at a dervish's pace on "Brilliant Corners," and Braxton's horn - an alto on this album - moves right for that street where interval meets modulation and sticks his solo in the center, careening over the arrangement - which is what the tune is in essence, an arrangement rather than a "song"…