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Joel Harrison's avatar

all good points, thanks Howard. Of course there's still a lot in Chicago, but not in the South Side, correct? Maybe I should have made that more clear.

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Howard Mandel's avatar

interesting piece, Joel, thanks for it. I like the AEC’s Ann Arbor jazz and blues fest recording, Baptism, though it’s not as well-recorded as Mandel ( no relation), Hall. I was lucky to attend both shows, and many others they played. Lester struck me as a very fine trumpet technician, with a broad if unconventional approach. Joseph — nuts? Well, idiosyncratic, insightful, visionary. Roscoe remains magisterial. there’s a lot of great blues and avant-garde performance still happening in Chicago. come see!

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Brian M. Bacchus's avatar

Moye wasn't from Chicago either. A little tidbit, Billy Banks and Moye were roommates at Wayne State University. And Billy was the tour manager for AEC in Europe when Philip left, as he left the US to avoid the draft. I believe he was responsible for bringing Moye to AEC's attention. Billy is now the manager of J@LC's Rose Hall.

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Joel Harrison's avatar

of course...Moye was from Rochester...

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Lazaro Vega's avatar

Thanks for this. My friend and mentor Chuck Nessa was the first to record them. Have had the pleasure of presenting Roscoe Mitchell in concert three times. Looking forward to what you think of the current iteration of the Art Ensemble. They came together for Edge Fest in Ann Arbor resulting in a recording, and have released an album in France. It’s so grand in instrumentation and musical reach.

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Eric Deibler's avatar

This was a wonderful piece, Joel! I appreciate your personal connection and experience with this place and this music – I’m not that much younger than you, but young enough that, by the time I was old enough to have been able to know about any of it, it was all essentially gone. But, this piece made made me feel like I got to experience a little bit of it. Thank you!

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Mark Switzer's avatar

At some point in my future live I plan to produce a scholarly monograph comparing the Art Ensemble with the Greatful Dead,though I admit that great white music ancient to the future doesn’t have the same ring to it.

The main thing is that if you want to hear an “authentic” reggae groove or or NOLA carnival beat you’re at the wrong show; they did it their way and it took on their on authenticity after awhile.

It took a long time before the Dead’s songbook was recognized for it’s greatness, I think the AEC’s book is ready for a similar evaluation.

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Joel Harrison's avatar

I agree with that to a certain degree. When I started my group Free Country I almost adopted that moniker as a joke. "great white music ancient to the future." I hold both groups in high esteem.

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