Art Ensemble of Chicago - Les Stances a Sophie (1970)

In 1970, the members of the Art Ensemble of Chicago were living as expatriates in Paris. The group had only recently expanded to its permanent quintet status with the addition of drummer/percussionist Don Moye when they were asked by New Wave director Moshe Misrahi to provide the soundtrack for his movie, Les Stances a Sophie. The music was never used in the film but, luckily, it was recorded. The result was one of the landmark records of the burgeoning avant-garde of the time and, simply put, one of the greatest jazz albums ever. On two of the tracks, the Art Ensemble is joined by vocalist Fontella Bass, at the time the wife of trumpeter Lester Bowie and riding the success of her pop-soul hit Rescue Me. She's featured most prominently on the opening number, Theme De Yoyo, an astounding piece that has achieved legendary status as the finest fusion of funk and avant-garde jazz ever recorded. The mix is indeed seamless, with Moye and Favors laying down a throbbing, infectious groove, Bass singing the surreally erotic lyrics with enormous soul and the horn players soloing with ecstatic abandon. The remaining pieces cover a wide range stylistically with no less beauty and imagination, including two variations on a theme by Monteverdi, intense free improvising and soft, deeply probing sonic investigations.Their extensive knowledge of prior jazz styles, love of unusual sound sources (the so-called "little instruments) and fearless exploration of the furthest reaches of both instrumental and compositional possibilities came into full flower on this record.

by Brian Olewnick in All Music Guide

Styles:
Free-Jazz
Avant-Garde

Tracks:
01 - Theme de Yoyo (09:06)
02 - Theme de Celine (03:04)
03 - Variations Sur un Theme de Monteverdi I, II (04:47)
04 - Theme de l'Amour Universal (03:52)
05 - Proverbes No. 1, No. 2 (03:55)
06 - Theme Libre (08:53)

Line-up:
Joseph Jarman - saxophones, clarinets, percussion instruments
Roscoe Mitchell - saxophones, clarinets, flute, percussion instruments
Lester Bowie - trumpet, percussion instruments
Malachi Favors Maghostut - bass, percussion instruments, vocals
Fontella Bass - vocals, piano
Don Moye - drums, percussion

Roscoe Mitchell Sextet - Sound (1966)

Sound, Roscoe Mitchell's debut as a leader, was an early free jazz landmark and an enormously groundbreaking album in many respects. Historically, it marked the very first time that members of Chicago's seminal AACM community appeared on record; it also showcased the early chemistry between future Art Ensemble of Chicago members Mitchell, Lester Bowie, and Malachi Favors. Arrangement-wise, it employed a number of instruments largely foreign to avant-garde jazz -- not just cello and clarinet, but the AEC's notorious "little instruments," like recorder, whistle, harmonica, and assorted small percussion devices (gourds, maracas, bells, etc.), heard to best effect on the playful "Little Suite." Structurally, Sound heralded a whole new approach to free improvisation; where most previous free jazz prized an unrelenting fever pitch of emotion, Sound was full of wide-open spaces between instruments, an agreeably rambling pace in between the high-energy climaxes, and a more abstract quality to its solos. Steady rhythmic pulses were mostly discarded in favor of collective, spontaneous dialogues and novel textures (especially with the less orthodox instruments, which had tremendous potential for flat-out weird noises). Simply put, it's an exploration of pure sound. It didn't so much break the rules as ignore them and make up its own, allowing the musicians' imaginations to run wild (which is why it still sounds fresh today). Sound's concepts of texture, space, and interaction would shortly be expanded upon in classic recordings by Anthony Braxton, Muhal Richard Abrams, the Art Ensemble of Chicago, and others; the repercussions from its expansion of free jazz's tonal and emotional palettes are still being felt. [Delmark's CD reissue includes two takes of "Sound," which were edited together to form the original LP version, and an alternate arrangement of the briefer free-bop tribute number "Ornette."]

by Steve Huey in All Music Guide

Styles:
Avant-Garde
Free-Jazz

Tracks:
01 - Ornette [alternative take] (5:44)
02 - Sound 1 (26:36)
03 - The Little Suite (10:27)
04 - Ornette (5:29)
05 - Sound 2 (19:24)

Line-up:
Roscoe Mitchell: alto saxophone, clarinet, flute, recorder
Lester Bowie: trumpet, flugelhorn, harmonica
Malachi Favors: bass
Maurice McIntyre: tenor saxophone
Lester Lashley: trombone, cello
Alvin Fielder: percussion