Urban Chicago and Friends

November of last year ECM records put out this massive Art Ensemble of Chicago (AEC) Box Set.  This Box Set was all the AEC albums on ECM and all the music of the musicians in the band that were also on ECM.  Some of the music was also part of the famed AACM people.  It was quite a generous undertaking and included 21 CD's and a whopping 300 page book.  The book (which I'm still reading) is a generous and educational undertaking.  This is a group who is highly influential and to me an extremely important part of Jazz. Getting this box set and reading has made me more wise and better for it. Not only is this album I talk about below important, but check out anything with these musicians and with the recent death of Joseph Jarman this is a wonderful time capsule a very fruitful and creative period. 

After I finished my community college studies I told myself I was going to work, travel and enjoy myself. I wanted to go on road trips to Baseball Hall of Fame, Chicago, and other great points of interest. I did a few of these travels and had some fun. In the case of work, I needed to find full time work to do these ventures. I had a part time gig, but that was not paying my bills nor was it making me save any. I would use some of that money to buy music. I applied at a few places and finally found a place that would (I thought) make me happy. I liked the long days because it kept me out of trouble. But on the other hand I did not really have time for myself or for that matter my girlfriend. I am surprised that we stayed together during this time.

When I decided to work at a copy cat Borders Store I was excited to put my music and book knowledge to use and help people find cool music and great books to read. After a few weeks of helping the store get in shape, it came to the conclusion of the big boss that my knowledge would be useful in the Cafe. I kinda laughed and shrugged it off and decided that maybe one day I would be rewarded. After a few weeks I got tired of the mess and the last straw was hearing a person complain about why should could not find a Mozart CD and her husband could not find a good Jazz CD to listen to. I left the desk and found both what they were looking for. Sadly, the person in charge that night saw it and told the big boss and the next day I was dismissed from my job.

Over the time I worked their I was able to get music at a good price. I would see things that were different or odd and I would save my check (or what was left of it) and buy CD's. One day a group passed my hands while looking for something else. I told the friend in the music department to hold on to it for me while I asked my friend the musical questions. "What Do You know about Art Ensemble of Chicago?" He told me that I should get most of the stuff to pick up and he told that that if the CD was a ECM Art Ensemble of Chicago release then I should really get it.

I decided to pick it up and with my discount it turned out to be a great price. The album called Urban Bushmen and I was up for the challenge of a 2CD set. I really thought maybe it was like a retrospective of their work. I had no idea that it was a live recording and that it was a hard album to understand, but that was okay by me because I welcomed it with open ears. The mix of multiple genres helped me understand where they were going musically and stylistically. I really did not know what to make of the music then, but I learned a lot from it. I liked the percussion on it and also the sense of tribal type music. It was something that I am sure would have not been in my collection if I did not ask the questions.

When I first saw the CD I thought the cover art was a bit odd, but I have chosen music before with different art work. The music of Art Ensemble of Chicago has been around for decades and each time they put something out, they stretch their creative musical ideas and influence. The fact that Art Ensemble of Chicago collectively changed the Jazz landscape. Each member in the band too has done some amazing work. Lester Bowie is an amazing Trumpet player. His solo stuff is worth seeking out. Roscoe Mitchell is the only one of the group I have seen live. His music has always been associated with the importance of the Jazz scene in Chicago. Roscoe and Anthony Braxton are some of the most important people from the AACM. (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians)

The 21CD, 300 Page Book, worth every penny of a great historical document.

In the late '60s and early '70s, the Art Ensemble helped pioneer the fusion of jazz with European art music and indigenous African musics. It also fused jazz with itself; that is to say, the band combined elements of jazz history and pre-history -- for instance, music from the sanctified church services, minstrel shows, and bawdy houses of late 19th and early 20th century America -- with a modernist spirit of experimentation. (AM) The album I chose was the first of many great albums I bought by them. Check this one out and tell me what you think. Enjoy something different and I am sure you will pick more up! Enjoy!