Muhal Richard Abrams on piano, bell, bamboo flute, taxi horn, and percussion; George Lewis on trombone and laptop; Roscoe Mitchell on soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, and percussion. CD

A seminal session from Roscoe Mitchell – beautiful work recorded for the small Nessa label, and a real testament to the fragile beauty of his music! Some of the tracks are solo, and others feature Roscoe in shifting groups with other AACM players – a duet with bassist Malachi Favors, another with reedman Anthony Braxton, a trio with Muhal Richard Abrams on piano and George Lewis on trombone, and a quartet with Joseph Harman, Henry Threadgill, and Wallace McMillan. The sound's about as haunting as you can get for the AACM in the 70s – sensitive sounds, complex tones, and a rich approach to creative music that goes far beyond jazz – a really stark contrast to the styles of New York or European avant players from the same period! Titles include "Off Five Dark Six", "A1 Tal 2LA", "Nonaah", "Sing", "Chant", "Ericka", and "Tahquemenon". CD

A great early Black Saint album from trombonist George Lewis – a key example of the way the AACM spirit thrived overseas, thanks to the efforts of labels like this! The work is quite serious and experimental – almost compositional in nature, and definitely heading towards the AACM promise of "Great Black Music". Two of the songs, "Monads" and "Shadowgraph" are performed by a group that features Roscoe Mitchell on saxes, Leroy Jenkins on violin, Muhal Richard Abrams on piano, Douglas Ewart on bass clarinet and other reeds, and Abdul Wadud on cello – with Lewis himself on tenor trombone and other horns. "Triple Slow Mix" features Lewis on the sousaphone with split piano channels – Abrams on the left and Anthony Davis on the right – a very haunting sonic experience. "Cycle" has Lewis playing the Moog in addition to trombone and tuba, accompanied by Ewart on various woodwinds. LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal session from Roscoe Mitchell – beautiful work recorded for the small Nessa label, and a real testament to the fragile beauty of his music! Some of the tracks are solo, and others feature Roscoe in shifting groups with other AACM players – a duet with bassist Malachi Favors, another with reedman Anthony Braxton, a trio with Muhal Richard Abrams on piano and George Lewis on trombone, and a quartet with Joseph Harman, Henry Threadgill, and Wallace McMillan. The sound's about as haunting as you can get for the AACM in the 70s – sensitive sounds, complex tones, and a rich approach to creative music that goes far beyond jazz – a really stark contrast to the styles of New York or European avant players from the same period! Titles include "Off Five Dark Six", "A1 Tal 2LA", "Nonaah", "Sing", "Chant", "Ericka", and "Tahquemenon". CD

A crucial record from Roscoe Mitchell – a set that builds both on his important solo work, and his musical discoveries with the Art Ensemble of Chicago – but which also opens up the more sonic territory that would soon set Mitchell and a few other colleagues apart, and open up even more possibilities for experimentation in the AACM! The set begins with "LRG" – a trio piece with two key collaborators – George Lewis on trombones and sousaphone, and Leo Smith on trumpets – both working with Mitchell, who blows piccolo, flute, oboe, clarinet, soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxes – in these amazing ranges of sounds, tones, and shapes – almost a catalog of improvisational possibilities. "The Maze" is even more striking – less reed work, and instead a piece done for eight percussionists – with an unlikely lineup that features Anthony Braxton, Malachi Favors, Joseph Jarman, Douglas Ewart, Don Moye, Thurman Barker, Mitchell, and Henry Threadgill – in this moody, choppy piece that runs for twenty minutes. Last up is "S II Examples" – probably our favorite – as it's got Roscoe playing solo soprano in a long tone-oriented piece that sounds a lot more like some electronic instrument than it does a soprano sax – further proof that he was really doing tremendous things at the time! CD

The nine to get ready here are the members of Roscoe's Note Factory nonet – an ensemble that includes George Lewis on trombone, Hugh Ragin on trumpet, Matthew Shipp on piano, William Parker on bass, and Tani Tabbal on drums and percussion. The sound here is spare and textural – very much in the ECM mode, and often surprisingly spare, despite the largeness of the group. Mitchell's on soprano, alto, tenor, and flute – stepping slowly alongside more tightly arranged horn passages for most of the set. Titles include "Leola", "Dream & Response", "Nine To Get Ready", "Move Toward The Light", "Big Red Peaches", and "Bessie Harris". CD

One of Braxton's first recordings of his work for larger ensembles, and a masterpiece that gives a good example of the kind of early ideas that have informed some of his recent work in the same style. The orchestras vary from track to track, but they all include excellent players like Roscoe Mitchell, George Lewis, Seldon Powell, and Cecil Bridgewater – players who are more than capable of meeting the demands of Braxton's writing, and who can bring a lot of their own to the session. Great stuff, and with a good set of notes. CD

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

Pretty great solo work from Julius Hemphill – an extended 2LP set that features a completely solo performance on reeds – almost his answer to similar creative recordings by Anthony Braxton and Roscoe Mitchell from the AACM! The extended set really stretches out beautifully – billed as an "audiodrama", and featuring some overdubbing of solo performance – so that Hemphill's interweaving his reed work beautifully – mixing lines on flute, soprano sax, and alto – all with thoughtful, lyrical elements that easily show the reedman at his 70s best! The album features one long track, spread out over both discs – with a hell of a lot of dynamic energy throughout – very much in the mode of some of Sackville's best solo avant recordings of the time – like records by Roscoe Mitchell and George Lewis. CD

One of Braxton's first recordings of his work for larger ensembles, and a masterpiece that gives a good example of the kind of early ideas that have informed some of his recent work in the same style. The orchestras vary from track to track, but they all include excellent players like Roscoe Mitchell, George Lewis, Seldon Powell, and Cecil Bridgewater – players who are more than capable of meeting the demands of Braxton's writing, and who can bring a lot of their own to the session. Great stuff, and with a good set of notes. LP, Vinyl record album