AACM

George Lewis, Nicole Mitchell, and Douglas Ewart convened to discuss the AACM and its history, and to play a brief concert. While the backdrop of George Lewis' imminent book release loomed large (and in fact loomed in the lobby, as the University of Chicago Press arrived to hock them post show), it wasn't the explicit topic or focus of the discussion.

The panel was lightly moderated by a student from the Art Institute of Chicago, who worked to put the event together under the auspices of their Masters of Arts in Arts Administration and Policy program. As a result, the ostensible topic was the organizational aspects of the AACM, although the conversation didn't follow very specific topics. Having recently finished George Lewis' book, there wasn't anything particularly revelatory in the panel, although there were several good laughs and moments of clarity from each panel member.

The panel lasted about an hour, and it was followed by a trio performance of about a half an hour. Nicole Mitchell brought the two extreme ends of her flute arsenal, her piccolo and her bass flute, Douglas Ewart played bass clarinet, didgeridoo, and piccolo, and George Lewis played trombone and laptop.

It struck me while listening to George Lewis process both his own instrument and the outputs of the other two musicians on stage that what he is not content with just creating the musical input, he also wants to create the room and acoustic space the music happens in. That is to say that when we play acoustic instruments, the walls and room provide basic acoustic treatments of reverb and space. George Lewis has the ability to augment those basic properties, but also take the acoustic space any other number of places.

It was basically one long improvisation, and to show that the AACM has still got it, there were a number of people who got up and left during the proceedings. Going on 45 years later, they still make many people visibly uncomfortable with their musical explorations.

A very nice event put on at the Cultural Center here in Chicago. I encourage any New Yorkers to check out the New York event happening May 9th that also features a great panel and a fantastic trio.

I will be there and will report back:

Chicago Cultural Center Presents George Lewis

Tuesday, April 15, 4:15 - 5:45pm
Chicago Cultural Center, Cassidy Theater
78 E. Washington Street., Chicago
Free

George Lewis: Composer, Musician and Author of "A Power Stronger Than Itself: A History of the AACM" talks about the rich history of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, an organization founded in Chicago in 1965. He will be joined by Nicole Mitchell and Douglas Ewart, the current leaders of the AACM for the discussion. The three musicians will also perform together. An event co-produced by the Masters of Arts Administration and Policy Department at the School of the Art Institute and the Chicago Cultural Center.

George Lewis, Edwin H. Case Professor of Music at Columbia University. He has taught at UC San Diego, Mills College, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and Simon Fraser University's Contemporary Arts Summer Institute. He has served as music curator for the Kitchen in New York, and has collaborated in the "Interarts Inquiry" and "Integrative Studies Roundtable" at the Center for Black Music Research (Chicago). A member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) since 1971, Lewis studied composition with Muhal Richard Abrams at the AACM School of Music, and trombone with Dean Hey. An active composer, improvisor, performer and computer/installation artist, Lewis has explored electronic and computer music, computer-based multimedia installations, text-sound works, and notated forms.

His artistic work is documented in over 120 recordings and has been awarded by a 2002 MacArthur Fellowship, 1999 Cal Arts/Alpert Award in the Arts, and numerous fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. His oral history is archived in Yale University's collection of "Major Figures in American Music," and his published articles on music, experimental video, visual art, and cultural studies have appeared in numerous scholarly journals and edited volumes.

George Lewis is many things to many people: a performer, composer, improviser, scholar, and a professor. It would be misguided to overemphasize any one of these areas of experience and expertise in evaluating his newly released book on the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), A Power Stronger Than Itself, as the end result reflects both the careful theoretical critiques and understanding of academic rigor and the unique, invaluable perspective of a performer, musician, and member of the AACM.

The 500+ page tome is not merely a historical account; there is critical analysis of the racial politics of composition, improvisation, and experimentation, the world of grants and foundations in the arts, and the repercussions of increasingly global musical dialogues, all of it interspersed with incredible historical information that only someone with insider access to the AACM could have collected. The book is packed with revelations both theoretical and factual, the former the culmination of years of thought and analysis that come together to present a cogent critique and understanding of the world of improvised, experimental music.

It is instantly amongst the best books I've read on the subject, and is in a league of its own in terms of approaching issues of racial politics in experimental music, an area that has heretofore been tip-toed around more often than it has been discussed head on. In the factual department, the biographical nuggets he offers on many AACM members points to a continued need for these stories to be told, as they are incredibly rich with detail and interest. As a member and peer of the musicians he writes about, Lewis strikes a remarkable balance between rightly celebrating the significant accomplishments of the individual members without veering into hagiography.

In terms of a time line, the book covers the AACM from its earliest origin, following the AACM's progress all the way up through the latest generation of AACM musicians. In the process Lewis dispels the oft perpetuated myth that the AACM is wholly indebted to the mystical collectivism of Sun Ra, an oversimplified attempt at regional linear evolution that doesn't take into account the myriad musical and philosophical influences at work in the early AACM formation. There is some particularly interesting information about the structure of the organization and how it dealt with a migration of members from Chicago to New York, and how we can understand the various waves and generations of AACM musicians. What develops out of this is a picture of an organization that has survived amongst internal disagreements, against social and financial odds, with the recurring theme being a belief in the organization's mission and resilience.

While the accomplishments of A Power Stronger Than Itself are not to be underestimated, the writing points to more work left undone. In the course of his discussions, Lewis points to numerous areas of discussion that deserve further exploration and analysis. It's a landmark study, providing a foundation of critique and inquiry that can and should lead to further discussion and research in the future. We can only hope that George Lewis will continue to publish works of this magnitude, but even if not, he will have left his mark on the study of jazz and improvised music.

My review copy said the release date is in May, and it is available for pre-order at a very reasonable price. Put your orders in now and clear your schedule for reading time, because it's a book that requires close attention. I'll be picking up the finished copy so I can have access to an index and the photographs I'm told will be included in the official release.

Dusty Groove, a Chicago record store of the highest caliber specializing in rare grooves from the US and abroad, has now spawned a label focusing on Essential Reissues (their name)that haven't seen the light of day in many years for one reason or another. Their first batch of reissues includes Brazilian legend Jorge Ben's Forca Bruta, brilliant jazz harpists Dorothy Ashby's The Rubaiyat of Dorothy Ashby, and last but not least, Melvin Jackson, bassist of Eddie Harris fame, and his Funky Skull. I've picked up all of them and they're three for three in my opinion. Here's my take on the Melvin Jackson entry in the series.

The opening title track Funky Skull features the first of two lineups that appear on the album, with Melvin Jackson playing upright bass, heavily filtered through a Maestro G2 box, boomerang, and echo-plex, Phil Upchurch on Fender bass (he also plays guitar on a later track), Morris Jennings on drums, Bobby Pittman and James Tatu on tenor, Donald Towns and Tom Hall on trumpet, Pete Cosey on guitar and Tobie Wynn on baritone. It's a rollicking funky groove akin to Cold Duck Time later on the album (which has the same lineup), with the distinguishing feature that sets it apart from similar recordings in the idiom being Melvin Jackson taking the lead on his affected upright that comes out sounding like a duck that smokes 3 packs a day.

If the rest of the album followed in this vein, it would be a solid, if not revolutionary funk record released in 1969. However, the second track, Ma She's Makin' Eyes At Me makes it clear that things are headed in a different direction. Once again featuring Mr. Jackson's bass quackery playing a melody over some heavily reverberated drums for a short 0:51, it acts a segue to the other world explored on the album, which has a large part to do with the other lineup.

Bold & Black brings a new band to the table, with Melvin again on acoustic bass, augmented by AACM stalwarts Jodie Christian on piano/hammond/echo-plex, Lester Bowie on trumpet/flugelhorn, Roscoe Mitchell on alto/baritone/flute, Leo Smith on trumpet/flugelhorn, and in addition Byron Bowie on tenor sax/flute, Steve Galloway on trombone, Maurice Miller on voices, and Billy Hart (!) on drums.

Now this is getting interesting.

Bold & Black is an Eddie Harris tune, one of a few that Jackson plays on the album. This one has a real laid back easy groove with tight horn backgrounds from the horn section, with each player taking some creative deviations from from the part, keeping their AACM street cred. Melvin Jackson improvises over almost the entire tune alongside Maurice Miller's passionate cries and singing, which help place the time of the recording with its pleas for Black pride and identity.

Now that the album's off the beaten track bona fides are certified, the second lineup takes on a Ken Chaney (of Young Holt Unlimited fame) tune called Dance of the Dervish that opens with Melvin Jackson's heavily echo-plexed bass, piano, drums, and some sublime backup singing to some uncredited female singers. With muted trumpets and the distant mixing of the piano to create some serious depth, there's an eerie quality early on in the track that gives way to some free improv with Melvin Jackson's echoey bass and some serious echo on some background vocals. Definitely in the space-dub-free-jazz realm, with the band eventually coming around and back to the melody.

Cold Duck Time is another funky workout with the first lineup, followed by three more tracks with the AACM heavy grouping. Say What features Mr. Jackson for much of the tune, and a nice Roscoe Mitchell blowing session over the laid back groove from the band. Funky Doo follows the same basic format that has now been established, which is Melvin Jackson being featured with tight horn arrangements accompanying him, with some vocal calls to do the funky doo.

This is a great album and certainly a recording that could have only happened at the unique time and place that was Chicago in 1969, with the AACM in bloom and the Cadet sound of Ramsey Lewis and Earth, Wind and Fire laying the grooves down in another part of town. This meeting of the two worlds through the work of Melvin Jackson is truly a treat. If Dusty Groove keeps unearthing gems like this, we have some great sounds to look (hear?) forward to.

You can purchase the CD here, and the LP here.

I've been looking forward to reading George Lewis' book on the AACM ever since I heard it was going to be published. The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) has a nice preview of the book up on their site, written by Professor Lewis himself.

To say a thorough investigation of this incredible collective is long overdue would be a massive understatement. John Litweiler has some cursory coverage of the AACM in his book The Freedom Principle: Jazz After 1958 (the title essentializes the music in a way that Mr. Litweiler is prone to, in my opinion). Lincoln Beauchamp wrote a book about the Art Ensemble of Chicago called "Great Black Music: Ancient to the Future" which contains some fantastic interviews but hardly constitutes a historical examination of even that one important group in the AACM's rich history.

There is no doubt in my mind, nor in anyone else's I am sure, that Lewis' book will be the definitive writing on the AACM and its history. As a member of the association and an incredibly talented scholar I am sure he has left no stone unturned and gained access to untold documents and histories that lie lurking in the private and collective collections of the AACM's members.

One of the promising things about the AACM is that Lewis' work might not always be definitive in terms of the entire history of the organization, precisely because that history continues with each passing day. His meticulous account of the formation will be exciting to read and I'm sure I'll have difficulty putting it down once its released. But the new generation of AACM musicians promises to make certain that there will need to be further revisions and chapters added to their story.

In honor of Mr. Lewis I'm currently spinning Roscoe Mitchell's 1975 (when George Lewis was only 22 if my math is correct) release "Quartet," featuring Roscoe Mitchell, Muhal Richard Abrams, George Lewis, and Spencer Barefield. It's interesting to compare the opening track Tnoona to the one that appears on the Art Ensemble's Fanfare for Warriors. Obviously the instrumentation is different and the tune has a very different impact on this recording. Not sure if I prefer one or the other, or even if it's necessary to do so.