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Art Ensemble of Chicago

Alexander Hawkins

By Alexander Hawkins
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Chuck Nessa Mentor

Chuck Nessa

Posted
Posted

I can offer some info about the Art Ensemble name. As stated earlier, Roscoe started calling his group the Roscoe Mitchell Art Ensemble in late 1966. The first evidence is a concert flyer I have from a 12/3/66 concert at the Harper Theater. This group was the quartet with Phillip Wilson. Phillip left the group, we recorded without a drummer in '67 (under Lester's name - for contractual reasons) and in early '68 with Bob Crowder playing drums. This second record was billed as the Roscoe Mitchell Art Ensemble.

By October of '68 my job took me out of Chicago and I lost day-to-day contact with the guys. Sometime in very late '68 or early '69 Roscoe asked Jarman to join the group. Two members of Joseph's quartet had died (Christopher Gaddy and Charles Clark), and he was "adrift".

Roscoe had already made the RM Art Ensemble a cooperative group, and when Joseph came aboard he dropped his name. This group had a fine following in Chicago, but they wanted to move on to bigger and better things - they had already tried NY but didn't think the fit was right. They left for Europe in the late spring of 1969, at the suggestion of Steve McCall. Steve was in Paris playing with Steve Lacy and Marion Brown.

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  • 2 years later...
Chalupa Newbie

Chalupa

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Posted

A highly recommended AEC reissue is the 'Pathe Session' CD which was part of the 'Americans Swinging in Paris' series that came out last year. This has two of the Art Ensemble best albums: 'People in Sorrow' and 'Les Stances a Sophie' which they recorded in the weeks that followed their arrival in Paris in 1969.

I was at the first concert they gave in Paris at the Centre Culturel Americain and caught them at a series of concerts they gave at the Cafe Lucernaire. Innovative, provocative and humorous concerts, these were. They really shook Paris at the time.

I just picked up a gently used copy of the Pathe Sessions for $5. Thanks for the excellent recommendation - I'm loving these recordings.

kh1958 Experienced

kh1958

Posted
Posted

They played at the Caravan of Dreams in Fort Worth shortly after it opened, in late 1983. I loved the whole group--Lester Bowie an amazing trumpeter (in white lab coat), Roscoe Mitchell and Joseph Jarman (the latter in war paint along with Malachi Favors and Don Moye) a pair of tremendous saxophonists, and an incredible rhythm section. Complete with the most impressive array of percussion instruments one could imagine. A great live experience.

  • 1 month later...
  • 4 months later...
AndrewHill Newbie

AndrewHill

Posted
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Fan of AEC. Have the BYGs, Atlantics, ECMs, DIWs etc.) Favorites are Baptizm (sic) and Nice Guys. Cool story about Lester. I went to undergrad school in Cleveland and took a couple of jazz classes, taught by Paul Ferguson of Cleveland Jazz Orchestra fame. Anyway, he anounces one day that he has a guest lecturer, and it turns out to be Lester Bowie. We got to listen for an hour and a half about Lester's early development, influences (one of the ones he metioned was Copeland (which I asked about)) AEC etc, and he brought his trumpet and improvised for us to boot. It was killer (although I think I was one of the few who knew he he actually was). This was back in '96. It was one of the most rewarding experiences I ever had and Lester was just so friendly and hung around after the lecture and talked to us. I was impressed. Great guy.

  • 1 year later...
Patrick Apprentice

Patrick

Posted
Posted

How often did AEC perform at the Jazz Showcase? A little surprising to me given my perception of Joe Segal's tastes (but what do I know). Anyone recall those shows in April '77?

Hot Ptah Newbie

Hot Ptah

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I attended concerts by Dizzy Gillespie and Randy Weston at the Jazz Showcase in the spring of 1978 and Joe Segal often urged us to attend his upcoming events. Johnny Griffin, Arnett Cobb, and the Art Ensemble of Chicago are the ones I now remember. He said that for Arnett Cobb, "we won't need any microphones."

sheldonm Newbie

sheldonm

Posted
Posted

Up.

I just stumbled upon a really cool site that has a lot of AEoC posters. Check it.

http://friends.peoria.lib.il.us/community/...rtEnsemble.html

The site belongs to a friend of mine. Very nice guy, if anyone's in Chicago and would be interested in seeing his collection he loves showing it to people and I could get you in touch.

I've heard him referred to as the "poster guy" but really a good friend named Howard Courtney...great guy!

m~

  • 3 months later...
papsrus Newbie

papsrus

Posted
Posted

Great thread. Great line in that wonderful recollection by JSngry:

It was also then that I began to be fully awakened to the concept that the people who insist that the music always come to them on their terms alone will never have to be worried about being overcrowded.

Very cool.

... and this brought a tear to me eye:

... After the concert she turned to me with a look of consternation on her face, and I thought "Oh hell, she hated it." But she said, "WHY haven't you taken me to anything like this before?" She was thrilled by it. I married her.

Well done sir! :tup

I have for some time been curious about this band, but have nothing on hand. Just ordered Americans Swinging in Paris.

papsrus Newbie

papsrus

Posted
Posted

I have for some time been curious about this band, but have nothing on hand. Just ordered Americans Swinging in Paris.

Too bad you missed the box set

Yah. I'm kind of bummed, but ... that's the way the old box set bounces sometimes. :ph34r:

GregK Apprentice

GregK

Posted
Posted

I have for some time been curious about this band, but have nothing on hand. Just ordered Americans Swinging in Paris.

Too bad you missed the box set

Yah. I'm kind of bummed, but ... that's the way the old box set bounces sometimes. :ph34r:

I hear there's a store in California that still sells it, out of print or not.....

  • 3 months later...
  • 1 year later...
Niko Rising Star

Niko

Posted
Posted

from Jet, 8 January 1970

"Another freedom group, L'Art Ensemble performed at the American Students Center here. In the group are musicians Roscoe Mitchell, Malachi Favors, Leslie Bowie, Larry Jarman and Grachan Moncur III"

(there's a second mention from July 1970, where they're called Art Ensemble of Chicago and all the names a spelled right...)

http://books.google.com/books?id=SDkDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA33&dq=%22grachan+moncur%22&lr=&as_pt=MAGAZINES&hl=de&cd=1#v=onepage&q=%22grachan%20moncur%22&f=false

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