Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians

Background

By the 1960s, jazz music was losing ground to rock music, and the founders of the AACM felt that a proactive group of musicians would add creativity and outlet for new music. The AACM was formed in May 1965 by a group of African-American musicians in Chicago centered on pianist Muhal Richard Abrams, who had organized the Experimental Band since 1961. The musicians were generally steadfast in their commitment to their music, despite a lack of performance venues and sometimes indifferent audiences. From 1969 the AACM organised a music education program for inner-city youths. In the 1960s and 1970s AACM members were among the most important and innovative in all of jazz, though the AACM's contemporary influence has waned some in recent years. Many AACM members have recorded widely: in the early days on the Delmark Records Avant Garde Jazz series and later on the Black Saint/Soul Note and India Navigation labels, and to a lesser extent on the Arista Records and ECM labels.

The musical endeavors of members of the AACM often include an adventurous mixing of avant-garde jazz, classical, and world music. The AACM also ran a school, The AACM School of Music, with classes in all areas taught by members of the AACM. The AACM also had a strong relationship with an influential sister organization, the Black Artists Group (BAG) of St. Louis, Missouri. The AACM has received aid from the MacArthur Foundation and has a strong relationship with Columbia College. A Power Stronger Than Itself: The AACM and American Experimental Music by George E. Lewis, has been published by the University of Chicago Press (May 2008).

In 2015, a 50-year retrospective exhibition of art, music and group-related artifacts, entitled, "Free at First", was held at the DuSable Museum of African American History.

Music

The AACM has been on the forefront of the avant-garde since its inception in 1965. Anthony Braxton, Henry Threadgill, and the Art Ensemble of Chicago pushed the boundaries of jazz and challenged the avant-garde classical movement led by John Cage. Concerts were heavily improvised, and many AACM members created scores that blended music, geometry, painting, and ciphers to be interpreted by the performers live. The AACM was part of an artistic movement on the South Side of Chicago that included AFRICobra (African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists) and other collectives.

Members

(largely complete through at least early 2025)

• Muhal Richard Abrams

• Peggy Abrams

• Soji Adebayo

• Willel Afi-Fi

• Ajaramu Joseph Shelton

• Dee Alexander

• Martin Alexander

• Frederick "Fred" Anderson

• Leon Q. Allen

• JoVia Armstrong

• Khari B

• Harrison Bankhead

• Renee Baker

• Zahra Glenda Baker

• Thurman Barker

• Fredrick "Fred" Berry

• Stephen E. "Steve" Berry

• Felix Blackmon

• Mwata Bowden

• Byron Bowie

• Lester Bowie

• Joel Brandon

• Anthony Braxton

• William "Billy" Brimfield

• Ari Brown

• Yosef Ben Israel

• Ken Chaney

• Jodie Christian

• Charles Clark

• Chet

• Charles Wes Cochran

• Phil Kelan Cohran

• Adegoke Steve Colson

• Iqua Colson

• Pete Cosey

• Gordon Emmanuel Cranshaw

• Jerome Croswell

• Michael Danzy

• Edwin Daugherty

• Rahmlee Michael Davis

• Ernest Khabeer Dawkins

• Justin Dillard

• Eugene "Gene" Dinwiddie

• Drahseer Khalid

• Sura Ramses Dupart

• Eugene Easton

• Coco Elysses

• Kahil El'Zabar

• Douglas R. Ewart

• Malachi Favors Maghostut

• Alvin Fielder

• Benjamin Ford

• Earl "Chico" Freeman

• Christopher Gaddy

• Steven Galloway

• Sarnie Garrett

• Aaron Getsug

• Frank Gordon

• Aquilla Graves

• Robert U. Griffin

• Jeff Harris

• Vandy Harris

• Walter Henderson

• Tony Herrera

• Frederic J. "Fred" Hopkins

• Edward "Ed" House

• Billy Howell

• "Maia The Artiste" Sonjia Hupert Harper

• Frederick "Fred" Jackson

• Isaiah "Ike" Jackson

• John Shenoy Jackson

• Shaku Joseph Jarman

• Leroy Jenkins

• James Johnson

• Shaun Johnson

• Edward "Kidd" Jordan

• Buford Kirkwood

• Janis Lane-Ewart

• Lester Lashley

• Sandra Lashley

• Khari Lemuel

• George E. Lewis

• Alex Lombre

• Evod Magek

• Steven "Steve" McCall, IV

• Kalapurasha Ahrah Difdah/Maurice McIntyre

• Wallace Laroy McMillan

• Nicole "Niki" Mitchell

• Roscoe Mitchell

• Donovan Mixon

• Famadou Don Moye

• Ameen Muhammed

• Amina Claudine Myers

• Mankwe Ndosi

• Reggie Nicholson

• Eddie "Gip" Noble, Jr.

• Seitu "Rah Bird" Nurullah

• Ugochi Nwaogwugwu

• Jeff Parker

• Regina Perkins

• John Powell

• Carlos Pride

• Amen Ra

• Michael "Mike" Reed

• Tomeka Reid

• Matana Roberts

• Troy Robinson

• Bata Rutlin

• Sherry Scott

• Davu Seru

• Sar Abshalom Ben Sholamo

• Rasul Siddik/Sadik

• Wadada Leo Smith

• John Stubblefield

• Hanah Jon Taylor

• Henry Threadgill

• Malachi Thompson

• Umchaka Uba

• Frank Walton

• Ann E. Ward

• Rita Warford

• Jesus Wayne

• Edward Wilkerson, Jr.

• Jose Williams

• Reggie Willis

• Jonathan Woods

• Avery R. Young

• Adam Zanolini

• Sabu Zawadi

• Saalik Ahmad Ziyad

• Taalib-Din Ziyad

References

References

1. Cook, Richard. (2005). "Richard Cook's Jazz Encyclopedia". Penguin Books.
2. Blumenfeld, Larry. (April 21, 2015). "'Free at First: The Audacious Journey of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians' Review". Wall Street Journal.
3. "About.". AACM.
4. Reich, Howard. (January 27, 2015). "50th anniversary of AACM celebrated at DuSable Museum". Chicago Tribune.
5. (1992). "[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music". [[Guinness Publishing]].
6. Litweiler, John. (1984). "The Freedom Principle: Jazz After 1958". Da Capo.
7. "Delmark History". delmark.com.
8. (1992). "[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music". [[Guinness Publishing]].
9. Chinen, Nate. (May 2, 2008). "Four Decades of Music That Redefined Free". [[The New York Times]].
10. Lewis, George E.. "Improvised Music After 1950: Afrological and Eurological Perspectives".Black Music Research Journal 22 (2002): 215–246
11. (2025). "AACM Members 1965-2025 [T shirt]". AACM.
12. "AACM members have been important innovators and influencers since 1965.". AACM.
13. "The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians".
14. "Avreeayl Ra". [[All About Jazz]].
15. [http://www.mikereed-music.com/about Bio] at Mike Reed website.