One of the most ambitious sets we've heard from Nicole Mitchell – a really unique mixing of modes that features a core Chicago group coming into play with the Arche New Music Ensemble! The initial group features Nicole on flute, vocals, and electronics – with Mwata Boden on baritone and bass clarinet, David Boykin on tenor, and Renee Baker on violin – all set against the larger backdrop of Arche – which features eleven musicians led by Rafal Zapala on electronics and percussion, on piano, trumpet, cello, viola, clarinet, trombone, oboe, and more! Mitchell's still at the heart of the performance – as the tracks are all her own compositions, and she conducts the proceedings as well – with this wonderful mode that's almost a blend of AACM energy with some of the more orchestrated improvisations of the European scene. The bulk of the record features the long "Arc Of O" piece – followed by a smoking rendition of Mitchell's great "Afrika Rising", a much more freewheeling and spiritual number! CD

Damn great work from Chicago flautist Nicole Mitchell – and another new chapter of her mighty talents! The album's a quartet session that beautifully swings between straight jazz modes and some more creative sounds – never as far out as some of Mitchell's more avant work, but always pushing the boundaries in really great ways. The set's quite different than some of the fuller, more ambitious projects Mitchell has undertaken in recent years – and it's also a change from some of the more intimate solo and duet modes she's used too – and the group features heavy contributions from guitarist Jeff Parker, plus bass from Harrison Bankhead, and drums from Avreeayl Ra. Titles include "Curly Top", "Center Of The Earth", "Snowflakes", "Awakening", "There", and "FOC". CD

An incredible book from Nicole Mitchell – an artist that most know for her work as a jazz musician on flute, and a range of other musical projects – yet one who's developed into a cultural force far beyond music, as you'll see in this really groundbreaking literary project! The book works at so many different levels – part memoir, part scrapbook, part manifesto – as Mitchell mixes personal reflections with political statements, poetry, musical scores, photographs, and a variety of other writings – overflowing with the sorts of ideas that are only hinted at in some of her recent recordings, and which really come into much sharper focus here on the printed page! The hardcover volume is a unique blend of words and images – the latter of which are printed in blue and white, following the aesthetic of the cover – and given the mix of art and ideas, culture and knowledge, the whole thing rivals, if not beats, some of the printed work of Sun Ra from years back. 255 pages, hardcover, with blue and white images throughout. Book

Mindblowing sounds from Chicago flute player Nicole Mitchell – a set of work inspired by the science fiction writings of Octavia Butler – with a striking style to match! Although the music has some arch qualities that live up to the darkness of Butler's writings, the performance here is also still mostly acoustic – in the mode we're used to from Mitchell's Black Earth group – but with odd tones and weird bits of phrasing that keep have us checking the notes to figure out the different instruments! The approach is a bit like the early cosmic visions of Sun Ra – especially when Mitchell hits more spiritual and rhythmic moments – and the well-matched ensemble of players features Nicole on flute, David Boykin on tenor and bass clarinet, David Young on trumpet and srali thom, Renee Baker on violin, Tomeka Reid on cello, Josh Abrams on bass, Jeff Parker on guitar, and Avreeayl Ra on percussion. Mankwe Ndosi sings just a bit on the record – and titles include "Dripping Matter", "Web Of Hope", "Fields Of Possibility", "Resisting Entanglement", "The Inevitable", and "The Ooli Moves". LP, Vinyl record album

A stunner from Nicole Mitchell – a flautist who's been pretty much redefining the jazz flute throughout her early career – here delivering a genre-defiant masterwork with her Black Earth Strings group! The String includes Chicago Sinfonetta Chamber Orchestra vet Renee Baker on violin & viola, diverse Chicago scene players Tomeka Reid on cello and Josh Abrams on bass, and Shirazette Tinnin on drums and percussion – and the group does in wonderful job of moving the boundless spirit of Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble recordings in a stripped down, acoustic, but unencumbered setting. From the dynamic improvisation to spiritually resonant compositions, it's incredible stuff – working in elements of African rhythmic influences, moving melodies, both graceful and muscular interplay, with soulful and funky jazz of decades past and the future to come. 16 tracks in all: "Crossroads", "No Mater What", "Ice", "Windance", "Renegades", "By My Own Grace", "What If", "Symbology" (#s 1, 2A & 2), "Wade", "Waterdance", "Mama Found Out", "Waris Dirie", "Aaya's Rainbow" and more. CD

A brilliant pairing of two generations of the AACM – as Roscoe Mitchell writes and conducts, and the group's led by Nicole Mitchell – and features a great assortment of very creative musicians! The blend of talents is key to the strength of the set – as the record avoids some of the coldness that you might find in some of Mitchell's other recent compositions – and really brings in the kind of warmth and humanity we've always loved in Nicole's recordings! In addition to Nicole Mitchell on flute, the set also features work by David Boykin on tenor, Josh Abrams on bass, Maia on harp, Tomeka Reid on cello, Greg Ward on alto, Robert Griffin on trumpet, Myra Melford on piano, and Mankwe Ndosi on voice – on titles that include "Quintet 1 For Eleven", "Cards For Orchestra", and "Quintet 9 For Eleven". CD

A record that definitely lives up to the sixth decade legacy noted in the title – as it takes work of the remaining members of the Art Ensemble of Chicago, and expands it with contributions from a number of musicians – both from Chicago and the global scene as well! The feel here is a mix of some of the larger concepts that Roscoe Mitchell has been working on of late, and some of the more organic expressions that the Art Ensemble helped encourage in the world of jazz – performed by a lineup that has Mitchell on sopranino and alto, and Don Moye on drums and percussion – joined by a huge lineup that includes Junius Paul on bass, Tomeka Reid on cello, Nicole Mitchell on flutes, Hugh Ragin on trumpet, and a larger lineup of basses, piano, and percussion as well. Moor Mother delivers a spoken word passage, and Roco Cordova and Erina Newkirk sing a bit – on titles that include "Kumpa", "Bulawayo", "I Feel Like Dancing", "Jigiba", "Funky AECO", "Improvisation Two", "Ritual Great Black Music", "Cards", and "Leola". CD

One of the most spiritual, most well-conceived sessions we've heard from reedman David Boykin in years – a single performance that runs for almost 30 minutes, featuring a totally hip lineup that includes Nicole Mitchell on flute, Joshua Abrams on bass, Jeff Parker on guitar, Eliel Sherman Storey on tenor, and Avreeyal Ra on drums! The key element here, though, is Lasana Kazembe – who delivers a powerful spoken passage at points – these righteous words about our fair city of Chicago, with a powerful message about the city and life within. Lawrence Jones adds congas to the proceedings, Zahra Glenda Baker sings a bit, and the whole thing resonates with a mix of jazz, spoken word, and spiritual message that takes us back to some of our favorite recordings of the 70s! CD

A magical bit of music from Chicago free spirit David Boykin – a CD ep that features one extended track, the 16 minute "Diasporadiation", a really cosmic number with a classic 70s spiritual feel! The group on the set is a quintet with Boykin on saxes, Nicole Mitchell on piccolo, and Jim Baker on piano – plus additional drums and cello – and the track builds nicely over the course of the CD, with some really great solo work from both Mitchell and Boykin! CD

A set recorded many years back by Chicago spiritualist David Boykin – but one that's finally getting its debut on record, as part of the ever-evolving rich tapestry of sounds that Boykin's been giving us since the 90s! The set here captures David at a key moment – when he was maybe turning towards even more spiritual currents from more outside performances – working with an excellent lineup that features Nicole Mitchell on flute, Josh Abrams on bass, James Baker on piano, Mike Reed on drums, Renee Baker on violin, Chinatsu Nakano on alto, and Shirazette Tinnin on congas. Both Abrams and Reed are also at key points of their development, and together with Boykin and Mitchell, they beautifully point the way forward for a new generation of Chicago expression. The piece is one long live performance, over 45 minutes in length – with segments that include "Midnight", "Sunrise", "Herukhuti", and "Enocturnal Sun". CD

An amazing blend of astral jazz and atmospheric orchestral soundscapes – composed and directed by coronetist Rob Mazurek! Exploding Star Orchestra is an apt name, but it's more of a bright and glorious explosion than a calamitous one – a sweeping couple of soundtracky suites that's the culmination of a couple years of work by Mazurek and a major contribution from Nicole Mitchell on flute – plus Jeb Bishop on trombone, Corey Wilkes on flugelhorn, Jeff Parker on guitar, John McEntire on marimba and tubular bells, John Herndon on drums, Jim Baker on piano & ARP, Jazon Adasiewicz on vibes, Matthew Lux on bass, Mike Reed on drums, percussion & saw, and others. It's part informed improvisation, part boundary free composition, and pretty wonderful all the way through! We expected something special, but this one goes above and beyond. Following the Frequency project by about 6 months, this is the second near classic avant garde jazz album on Thrill Jockey in a relative short stretch! 2 multi-part titles: The 70s style soul jazz groover "Sting Ray And The Beginning Of Time" (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 – Psycho-Tropic Electric Eel Drum and Part 4), "Cosmic Tomes For Sleep Walking Lovers" (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 – Fifteen Wais Towards A Finite Universe, and Part 5) – and the mellow, piano led centerpiece "Black Sun". CD

One of the most ambitious albums ever from Rob Mazurek – and a set that really continues the legacy of community building and world healing that's become such an important part of his music! Rob's a player who was great at the start – a hell of a trumpeter, and a great experimentalist with electronics – but in recent years, he's matured to become a real messenger for the farther, future reaches of jazz – with an energy that makes a collaborative project like this come off in a way that might never have occurred in the hands of any other musician! Mazurek is at the head – director, composer, arranger, and instrumentalist too – and the large lineup is filled with heavyweights from the Chicago scene that Rob helped shape over the past few decades – plus others as well – players who include Damon Locks on voice and electronics, Nicole Mitchell on flutes, Tomeka Reid on cello, Joel Ross on vibes, Jaimi Branch on trumpet, Jeff Parker on guitar, Ingebrigit Haker Flate on bass, and Chad Taylor, John Herndon, and Mikel Patrick Avery on a variety of drums and percussion. There's a richness here that tops other Exploding Star Orchestra performances – and more of a focus, too – so that the whole thing comes together as even more than the sum of its mighty parts, as one of the best International Anthem releases to date. Titles include "Galaxy 1000", "Parable Of Inclusion", "Autumn Pleiades", "Minerals Bionic Stereo", "Dimensional Stardust", "Abstract Dark Energy", and "The Careening Prism Within". CD

The most cosmically expansive and exciting work yet from composer/coronet player Rob Mazurek's Exploding Star Orchestra – dedicated to Amiri Baraka, and infused with the righteous, poetic spirit of Baraka's work with Sun Ra! The Exploding Star players include some Chicago underground heroes and heroines of longstanding brilliance, including flautist Nicole Mitchell, guitarist Jeff Parker, drummers John Herndon and Chad Taylor, bassist Matthew Lux, and Damon Locks on electronics and with some subtly righteous spoken word – along with Mazurek's Sao Paolo Underground cohorts Mauricio Takara and Guilherme Grandando, and last but not least, pianist Angelica Sanchez – all of whom have ample space to shine. Galactic Parables Vol 1 is a 2 disc set, one featuring the compositions as performed in Sardinia, and a second CD of their performances at the Chicago Cultural Center, which is a smart approach, given the improvisational nature of the material. There's plenty of space for the players to explore, and the differing performances are no doubt colored and shaded in different ways by different environments. Amazing stuff! Titles include "Free Agents Of Sound", "Make Way To The City", "The Arc Of Slavery #72", "Helmets Of Our Poisonous Thoughts #16", "Collections Of Time" and "Awaken The World #41". CD

A killer set from a group that may well be the most perfectly realized version of the Exploding Star concept from Rob Mazurek – one who've got some fantastic parts that come together here in a wonderfully visionary record! Rob's still in the lead on trumpets and electronics – but the group really resonates from some key contributions from Damon Locks on voice and more electronics – at a level that has him rising to that long-overdue role of stardom, which seems to give the whole group an even greater source of focus and energy. Jeff Parker lays down some wicked guitar, Angelica Sanchez and Craig Taborn are fantastic on Wurlitzer electric pianos and moog – and the great Nicole Mitchell is on flute and a bit of vocals. There's a sense of majesty here that Mazurek has never had before – and the album is maybe one of the most crowning achievements in his long and very storied career. Titles include "Future Shaman", "Shape Shifter", "White River", "Dream Sleeper", and "Black River". LP, Vinyl record album

Writer Paul Steinbeck has already given us a great book on the Art Ensemble Of Chicago – but this time around, he looks at the larger scene from which they came, the groundbreaking AACM moment in jazz, which emerged in Chicago in the late 60s! Steinbeck provides some cultural and historical context, but also focuses in on key recordings that helped to define the special genius of AACM musicians and their united vision – with an approach that's build around different records on a chapter by chapter basis – even leading up to a few more recent recordings that show the continuing influence and growth of the organization. Along the way, Steinbeck provides some musical notations and deeper analysis of the sounds from his perspective as a musicologist – very illuminating to us, as we tend to have much more of a visceral response to these records – a lineup that includes Air Time by Air, Levels & Degrees Of Light by Muhal Richard Abrams, Sound by Roscoe Mitchell, Voyager by George Lewis, Nonaah by Roscoe Mitchell, Composition 76 by Anthony Braxton, Ten Freedom Summers by Wadada Leo Smith, and Mandorla Awakening II by Nicole Mitchell. The hardcover book features many charts and scores throughout – and is a total of 272 pages in length. Book

Kinkysweet and Unified Records team up for this great look at late nite Chitown – a set of grooves that definitely comes from the deeper side of the Chicago dancefloor scene of late – mostly in a house-based mode, but with some key hipper touches as well! Some of the artists here make us mighty proud to hail from the Windy City – and tracks include "Caugth Up" by Gene Hunt, "Thinkin Back" by Mr Ali with Nicole Mitchell, "Sexy 1" by Peven Everett, "The Feeling Track (Eddy The Family rmx)" by Garage Family, "Imagine Freedom (DJ Spinna rmx)" by Mr Ali, "Church (Sting International rmx)" by Peven Everett, "In Transit 2" by Mr Ali, "Told You So" by Glen Undreground, and "Easy Livin (Brian Reaves & Afrodisa rmx)" by Peven Everett. CD