Art Ensemble of Chicago

History

Members of what was to become the Art Ensemble performed together under various band names in the mid-sixties, as members of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). They performed on the 1966 album Sound, as the Roscoe Mitchell Sextet. The Sextet included saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell, trumpeter Lester Bowie, and bassist Malachi Favors. For the next year, they played as the Roscoe Mitchell Art Ensemble. In 1967, they were joined by fellow AACM members Joseph Jarman (saxophone) and Phillip Wilson (drums) and recorded for Nessa Records.

All of the musicians were multi-instrumentalists. Jarman and Mitchell's primary instruments were alto and tenor saxophone, respectively, Additionally, they both played other saxophones ranging from the small sopranino to the large bass saxophone, as well as the flute and clarinet. In addition to trumpet, Bowie played flugelhorn, cornet, shofar, and conch shells. Favors added touches of banjo and bass guitar. Most of them dabbled in piano, synthesizer, and other keyboards, and they all played percussion instruments.

They were known for wearing costumes and makeup on stage. Member Joseph Jarman described part of their style:

In 1967, Wilson left the group to join Paul Butterfield's band, and for a period the group was a quartet without a full-time drummer. Jarman and Mitchell served as artistic directors at the cooperative summer camp Circle Pines Center in Delton, Michigan, in August 1968, during the same week that the Democratic Convention was in Chicago. After a farewell concert at the Unitarian Church in Evanston, Illinois, in fall, 1968, the remaining group traveled to Paris. In Paris, the ensemble was based at the Théâtre du Vieux Colombier. In France, they became known as the Art Ensemble of Chicago. The impetus for the name change came from a French promoter who added "of Chicago" to their name for descriptive purposes. The new name stuck because band members felt that it better reflected the cooperative nature of the group. In Paris, the ensemble was based at the Théâtre du Vieux Colombier and they recorded for the Freedom and BYG labels. They also recorded Comme à la radio with Brigitte Fontaine and Areski Belkacem but without a drummer until percussionist Don Moye became a member of the group in 1970. During that year, they recorded the albums Art Ensemble of Chicago with Fontella Bass and Les Stances a Sophie with singer Fontella Bass, who was Lester Bowie's wife. The latter was the soundtrack to the French movie of the same title.

Fifty years on

Lester Bowie died of liver cancer in 1999. Malachi Favors died in 2004 of pancreatic cancer. Joseph Jarman died on January 9, 2019, of respiratory failure.

As of 2017-2019 Mitchell and Moye remained active, with new and previous collaborators as guest under the name Art Ensemble of Chicago - 50th Anniversary Large Ensemble. They released an album in 2019:

• Roscoe Mitchell – saxophones;
• Famoudou Don Moye – drums, congas and percussion. Guests:
• Babu Atiba – african drums and djembe
• Fred Berry – trumpet, flugelhorn
• – double bass
• – piano
• Jean Cook – violin
• Steed Cowart – conductor
• Rodolfo Cordova-Lebron – voice
• Dudu Kouaté – African percussion
• yuniya edi kwon – viola/violin
• William Lang - trombone
• Nicole Mitchell – flutes
• Moor Mother – spoken word
• Erina Newkirk – soprano vocals
• – double bass and objects
• Hugh Ragin – trumpet, flugelhorn and piccolo trumpet
• Tomeka Reid – cello
• Stephen Rush - conductor
• Jaribu Shahid – double bass
• Abel Selaocoe – cello
• – trombone
• Baba Sissoko – African percussion
• – vocals, congas, mbira, bells
• Christina Wheeler – voice, array mbira, autoharp, q-chord, theremin, sampler, electronics
• Enoch Williamson – congas, djembe and percussion

and another in 2023 with a smaller ensemble of 20 musicians – The Sixth Decade: From Paris to Paris.

Discography

Films

• 1982 - Great Black Music - The Art Ensemble of Chicago Television documentary broadcast by Channel 4 in November 1982.
• 1982 - Live From the Jazz Showcase: The Art Ensemble of Chicago (directed by William J Mahin, the University of Illinois at Chicago). Filmed at Joe Segal's Jazz Showcase in Chicago, November 1, 1981.

References

References

1. Cook, Richard. (2005). "Richard Cook's Jazz Encyclopedia". Penguin Books.
2. Jost, Ekkehard. (1975). "Free Jazz (Studies in Jazz Research 4)". Universal Edition.
3. [http://www.furious.com/perfect/jarman.html Joseph Jarman interview] {{webarchive. link. (March 20, 2006)
4. Wilmer, Valerie. (1977). "As Serious As Your Life: The Story of the New Jazz". Quartet.
5. Jost, Ekkehard. (1975). "Free Jazz (Studies in Jazz Research 4)". Universal Edition.
6. Voce, Steve. (12 November 1999). "Obituary: Lester Bowie". [[The Independent]].
7. (11 February 2004). "Obituary: Malachi Favors". [[The Guardian]].
8. Chinen, Nate. (January 11, 2019). "Joseph Jarman, 81, Dies; Mainstay of the Art Ensemble of Chicago".
9. [https://pitchfork.com/news/jazz-musician-and-buddhist-priest-joseph-jarman-dead-at-81/ Jazz Musician and Buddhist Priest Joseph Jarman Dead at 81]: ''Pitchfork''. Retrieved 2019-01-11.
10. Chinen, Nate. (October 6, 2017). "The Art Ensemble of Chicago Celebrates 50 Years Of Channeling And Challenging History". [[National Public Radio]].
11. Shteamer, Hank. (March 25, 2019). "The Art Ensemble of Chicago on the Past and Future of Their 'Great Black Music'". [[Rolling Stone]].
12. (2019). "The Art Ensemble of Chicago". AKAMU SAS di Lofoco Alberto.
13. (2025-05-14). "Wed, 14 May 2025 20:00 Art Ensemble of Chicago".
14. Fordham, John. (January 27, 2023). "Art Ensemble of Chicago: The Sixth Decade: From Paris to Paris review – devoted heirs carry the torch". [[The Guardian]].
15. (2019). "The Art Ensemble Of Chicago". [[Discogs]].