For Alto (studio album)
by Anthony Braxton

For Alto by Anthony Braxton
Year: 1970
Overall rank: 5,053rd   
Average Rating: 
74/100 (from 71 votes)
     
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1970 (92nd)
Award Top albums of the 1970s (827th)
Award Best albums of all time (5,053rd)

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ANTHONY BRAXTON - For Alto - CD - **Excellent Condition** - RARE
Condition: Very Good


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Anthony Braxton ~ For Alto (Audio CD, Delmark) Jazz
Condition: Very Good


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ANTHONY BRAXTON Alto Saxophone Improvisations 1979 LP
Condition: Used


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Anthony Braxton bestography

For Alto is ranked 2nd best out of 50 albums by Anthony Braxton on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Anthony Braxton is Saxophone Improvisations Series F which is ranked number 4912 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 280.

Anthony Braxton album bestography « Higher ranked (4,912th)
Saxophone Improvisations Series F
This album (5,053rd)
For Alto
Lower ranked (11,372nd) »
Quartet (Santa Cruz) 1993

(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

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For Alto track list

   The tracks on this album have an average rating of 77 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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For Alto rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 5,053rd | 1970s rank: 827th | 1970 rank: 92nd

For Alto collection

For Alto ratings

Average Rating: 
74/100 (from 71 votes)
   Help Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
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Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 71 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
5/100
 !
11/23/2025 07:33 NYAndreas   1,43243/100
 
70/100
 !
05/26/2025 21:22 DommeDamian   7,29549/100
 
80/100
 !
03/25/2025 00:56 nocturnes   3987/100
 
80/100
 !
11/23/2024 18:44 PapaShiz86   10,89179/100
 
60/100
 !
06/01/2024 22:27 BorderFreeAndrew   14,49974/100

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(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)

This album is rated in the top 15% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 74.3/100, a mean average of 73.6/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 74.6/100. The standard deviation for this album is 20.4.

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For Alto comments

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From 03/17/2019 20:26 | #233695
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Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -3 votes (0 helpful | 3 unhelpful)
Rating:  
40/100
From 08/03/2018 01:16 | #219107
Yeah...no. I will admit that there are a few tracks I do like off this album. The intro for Jack Gell was a nice interlude intro. Also love the hell out of Susan Axelrod. Probably the best track that plays to the strengths of the qualities this album has. Also thought Murray De Pillars was also good. Now I do admire how this album is quite raw and naked where it's only Anthony. It does create an interesting presence. And though I'm not head over heels for Ann and Peter Allen that track feels like the prototype for lowercase music.

But even when I do have some nice things to say, I don't like the album at all. The Cecil track is oddly enough the only track that I forgot. Weirdly enough it just went in one ear and out the other. However tracks 2, 7 and 8 are so annoying to me. The qualities of being raw and naked just become this weird form of punishment where if this was release this decade, people would make fun of this shit instantly. And unlike Karma or The Epic where I do like how the atonal qualities of the sax create an interesting counterpoint, this is just work.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 07/16/2012 20:15 | #46648
I'm a passionate defender of the avant-garde, and I never thought I'd say this, but there are moments where the screeching noises on this album make it hard for me to listen to. The rest of the album sortof makes up for it, but Saxophone Improvisations is a similar type of solo sax album from Braxton, and is a far better album. I'd like For Alto a lot better if I didn't have Saxophone Improvisations to listen to instead.
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Best Albums of 1970
1. Paranoid by Black Sabbath
2. After The Gold Rush by Neil Young
3. All Things Must Pass by George Harrison
4. Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel
5. John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band by John Lennon
6. Bitches Brew by Miles Davis
7. Moondance by Van Morrison
8. Cosmo's Factory by Creedence Clearwater Revival
9. Led Zeppelin III by Led Zeppelin
10. Fun House by The Stooges
11. Let It Be by The Beatles
12. Black Sabbath by Black Sabbath
13. Loaded by The Velvet Underground
14. Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs by Derek & The Dominos
15. Déjà Vu by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
16. American Beauty by Grateful Dead
17. Deep Purple In Rock by Deep Purple
18. Abraxas by Santana
19. Morrison Hotel by The Doors
20. Tea For The Tillerman by Cat Stevens
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