AACM at Umbria Jazz

http://uhjazzjebell.myblog.it/archive/2009/07/18/umbria-jazz-presenta-una-“sezione-sperimentale”-con-il-colle.html

Nearly opposite to the billboard pop (Simply Red, Steely Dan), Umbria Jazz presents this year a "experimental section" which is perhaps the most ambitious of all the long history of the event.

In Perugia for six concerts in the program, the collective Great black music ensemble, which belongs to the historic symbol of Aacm Chicago. There are 21 musicians led by Mwata Bowden, among which the trombonist George Lewis, who virtually defined the project exclusively for the festival umbro. Musician and musicologist, Lewis is an intellectual commitment on several fronts is working, as told in Perugia, a book that explains not only the sense of improvisation in music and in jazz but also in other human activities, from science to policy the economy. The Aacm since 1965, the year of the foundation, wrote an important page of the development of jazz, with one foot in the proud defense of Afro-American and the head directed towards any possible future of music. The keyword for the musicians who have joined (a name for all, Art Ensemble of Chicago) is' creativity ', understood as freedom to express without bias, and even autocondizionamenti, his artistic universe.

The music you listen to the theater Morlacchi at 5 pm and midnight for three days (we are mid-cycle) is without doubt a complicated music to play and difficult to hear, that define the niche is perhaps simplistic. It is a music that does not give much to the public, especially to those of today who is less accustomed, for example compared to the 70s, with clinical trials. Interesting news, however, alternate with phases of impasse, the creativity and sometimes indulge in situations that seem to trace, contradictorily, dell'avanguardia style of decades past. Yesterday afternoon they were planning the orchestra compositions of women: the flutist Nicole Mitchell, the cellist Tomek Reid, violinist Renee Baker.

http://www.gio rnaledellamusica.it/rol/?id=2831

IL VENTO DI CHICAGO SU PERUGIA
The AACM Great Black Music Ensemble with George Lewis
Six concerts in three days with the musicians dell'AACM, between originality and high mannerism

l flagship of Umbria Jazz 09 is undoubtedly the home of a dell'AACM Chicago ensemble (21 musicians from different generations, including a Vocal Ensemble of four elements), gathered around the charismatic figure of trombonist George Lewis. A good thing for a festival focused on the mainstream, even for the beautiful formula of six concerts in three days at 17 and midnight.

The ensemble has performed music of eight composers. The average level was high, with the lion made by women: the music of flutist Nicole Mitchell, Rene Baker of the violinist and cellist Tomek Reid were among the high points of the series, as well as the riff of replacement Mwata Bowden , the minimal points of energy-rich Lewis and exciting setting of the Douglas Ewart. Despite the different personalities, the six concerts have shown that the language of the Chicago school has ceased to be experimental and became style, and in some cases high mannerism more extensive use, the direction of a recall, collective improvisation, diversified sources of style, size theater.
Hovers strong lesson of Charles Mingus and the Art Ensemble of Chicago, of which these artists present personal declinations. Often lack the narrative tension and control on the form of those models, even the strongest evidence and original (Ewart, Mitchell, Baker), but redeemed by a contagious joyfulness of playing music so lacking in jazz today, which finds expression in dance the goblin Ewart, in his enigmatic Tops who closed his piece, the humor of Lewis wander on stage, nell'esuberanza of all the soloists. The new jazz is not from Chicago, the AACM continues to produce good music.Stefano Zenni
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