The Photographs of Giovanni Piesco: Anthony Braxton

November 14th, 2023

…..The Naples, Italy native Giovanni Piesco is an Amsterdam-based photographer who since 1985 has taken photographs of the famous and the unknown, in places and in ritual, consistently demonstrating a flair for capturing the essence of human character.

…..Among his passions is jazz music and the musicians who create it. Beginning in 1990, Giovanni began taking backstage photographs of many of the great musicians who played in Amsterdam’s Bimhuis, that city’s main jazz venue which is considered one of the finest in the world.

…..Jerry Jazz Musician will occasionally publish portraits of jazz musicians that Giovanni has taken over the years. This edition is of the composer/saxophonist Anthony Braxton, taken during Amsterdam’s June, 2015 International Improvisation Festival, which focused on his work.

Click here to visit Giovanni Piesco’s website

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Anthony Braxton (born June 4, 1945) is an American experimental composer, educator, music theorist, improviser and multi-instrumentalist who is best known for playing saxophone. He grew up on the South Side of Chicago, and was a key early member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. His 1969 double-LP For Alto received acclaim for being the first full-length album of solo saxophone music.

Click here to visit Braxton’s complete Wikipedia page.

All photos © Giovanni Piesco

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Anthony Braxton
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View the entire performance of Anthony Braxton playing at the International Improvisation Festival in Amsterdam; June 4, 2015 (including guitarist Mary Halvorson, trumpeter Nate Wooley, cellist Tomeka Reed, and many other notable experimental musicians).