Art Ensemble of Chicago

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The Art Ensemble of Chicago is an avant-garde jazz ensemble closely identified with the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) in the mid 1960s. The group continues to tour and record through 2006, despite the deaths of two of the founding members. The original lineup was founder Roscoe Mitchell and Joseph Jarman on reeds, Lester Bowie on trumpet, and Malachi Favors on bass. They worked with a succession of drummers recruited from Chicago and St. Louis, until Famadou Don Moye joined as the permanent drummer upon their return from their three year residency in Paris, 1969-1971.

The Art Ensemble embodied the AACM motto “Great Black Music, Ancient to the Future” with their use of costumes and face paint in performance plus the adventurous improvisation, the use of folk music and instruments, swing, and a variety of musical expression that made them hard to pin down to a specific genre.
The listener is engaged by the Ensemble’s multi-instrumentalism, especially the use of what they term “little instruments” in addition to the traditional jazz lineup; “little instruments” can include bicycle horns, bells, birthday party noisemakers, wind chimes, and a vast array of percussion instruments (including found objects). These two characteristics combine to make the ensemble’s performances as much a visual spectacle as an aural one, with each musician playing from behind a large array of drums, bells and other instruments.

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jazz, free jazz, avant-garde, avant-garde jazz, improvisational
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Les Stances a Sophie
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A Jackson in Your House
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Selected Recordings
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Top Tracks

1	Theme De Yoyo	106
2	Thème de Céline	93
3	Theme amour universal	55
4	Thème "Libre"	54
5	Odwalla full track	41
6	Proverbes (II)	40
7	Proverbes (I)	38
8	Nice Guys	31
9	Variations Sur Un Theme De Monteverdi (i)	29
10	A Jackson in Your House	27
10	Thème de Yoyo	27
12	Variations Sur Un Theme De Monteverdi (ii)	25
13	Song for Charles full track	20
14	Folkus	15
15	Malachi	14

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FootToFace wrote:
Friday morning

no

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dpch_mod wrote:
10 days ago

can you recommend me an album to start with?

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Inci90 wrote:
October 2009

Art Ensemble of Chicago is bloody perfect*

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toy-maker wrote:
August 2009

The album < Comme à la radio > they did with Brigitte Fontaine is bloody perfect ! [2]

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Wilson_Loves_U wrote:
August 2009

The album < Comme à la radio > they did with Brigitte Fontaine is bloody perfect !

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-Eugene wrote:
August 2009

a lot

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MavonBarksfield wrote:
August 2009

lol i wonder what percentage of people hear theme de yo yo and theme de celine and go "omg i love this group" then hear anything else by them and go "wtf is this shit"

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Grindfucked wrote:
July 2009

I really love these guys.

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szklane_oko wrote:
July 2009

i feel very lucky to see them live a week ago in Warsaw.

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gamboda wrote:
July 2009

http://www.lastfm.ru/music/third+view/negative+premonition some free music from russia sibiria very intresting

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Zap-Pascal wrote:
June 2009

Big love... for free... like a bee ! Sounds everywhere with passion !

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jazzfan123456 wrote:
June 2009

does anyone know the ECM-Album "Full Force"?! a very good one. it starts with a 20-minutes-percussion-improvisation, which i always loved from these guys..

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bitsbytes wrote:
March 2009

Theme de Yoyo hab ich mal vor 22 Jahren oder so gehört ^^ Und prompt wiedergefunden ^^ Mann ist das goil

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zlnrz wrote:
March 2009

tryty-ty-ty-tryty-ty!

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toztizokzndz wrote:
March 2009

urban bushmen is indeed a great album.

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jake1313 wrote:
March 2009

Theme de Yoyo is amazing.

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JOJOKYRA wrote:
February 2009

tc tc duper smash luper viper

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ryadeum wrote:
February 2009

one of the most creative and inspiring ensembles of jazz history

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Actopus wrote:
January 2009

LOVE

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szklane_oko wrote:
January 2009

I know that this is what i like most since i heard the first fanfare and this ducky sounds from the begining of A Jackson in Your House. Just my kind of weirdness. Although i like The Third Decade, Coming Home Jamaica and Art Ensemble Of Soweto too. Recently they killed me again using Fanfare For The Warriors. Art Ensemble Of Chicago is a big thing, people!

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