Balancing between notation and improvisation, Anthony Braxton’s Ghost Trance Music represents a unique body of “open works” that challenges traditional roles of composer, score and performer. In Ghost Trance Music Braxton’s entire fascinating musical universe comes together. You step into a ritual, guided by a melody without beginning or end, a stream of consciousness that serves as the central track leading you into the unknown. Originally inspired by the Native American practice of the Ghost Dance ritual, where surviving members of Native American tribes would attempt to communicate with their ancestors through transcendental ghost dances, the Ghost Trance Music pieces are specifically designed to function as pathways between Braxton’s different musical systems, between notation and improvisation, between past, present and future. It allows for a plurality of musical practices to join forces, transcending traditional genre boundaries. It creates an arena in which Braxton helps curate intuitive experiences for both performers and listeners.

This concert is the result of a 2 day workshop where Advanced Master students from the School of Arts Gent join forces with a squad of Ictus musicians. The workshop & performance is conducted by guitarist Kobe Van Cauwenberghe who has been working on Braxton music for several years now. His latest release on the London based label ‘All That Dust’ of his solo response to Braxton’s Ghost Trance Music received unequivocal praise on ‘All About Jazz’ : Belgian guitarist Kobe Van Cauwenberghe steps inside that matrix with his performance of three Braxton compositions with his Ghost Trance Solos by layering loops and electronics over his guitar in real time. The effect is astonishing and as hypnotic as an ensemble performance. The full review you find here.