New York Times: A Taste of the Vast A.A.C.M. Legacy

May 2, 2008
By NATE CHINEN

The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians has issued a staggering amount of music in its four decades of existence. Here is a sampling: a dozen vital works, drawn from both the recent and more distant pasts. Most are still in print; all are available through online retailers like amazon.com, though in a few cases you might have to settle for a used copy or a digital-only release.

Then

AIR “Air Time” (Nessa, 1977). The multireedist Henry Threadgill, the bassist Fred Hopkins and the drummer Steve McCall constituted Air, a fantastically open-ended yet deeply purposeful collective that had a profound impact in experimental circles. This is the group’s finest release.

ART ENSEMBLE OF CHICAGO “Urban Bushmen” (ECM, 1982). For its sonic breadth and emotional depth, this two-disc live album is among the essential commercial releases of the association’s best-known group. It concludes with the compulsively hummable “Odwalla.”

Anthony Braxton “Quintet (Basel) 1977” (Hat Hut, 2000). Though merely a drop in the ocean of available Braxtonia, this concert recording documents a ferocious band, with Muhal Richard Abrams on piano and George Lewis on trombone.

ROSCOE MITCHELL “Sound” (Delmark, 1966). This first release by a member of the association is still a stunner. Mr. Mitchell, playing alto saxophone, clarinet and assorted toy instruments, presents compositional forms with varying degrees of flexibility. more