5 Minutes That Will Make You Love Chicago Jazz: The Art Ensemble of Chicago

Very flattered to have been asked by Giovanni Russonello of the New York Times to contribute to “5 Minutes That Will Make You Love Chicago Jazz” alongside Dee Alexander, Lauren Deutsch, Brent Hayes Edwards, Peter Margasak, Scott McNiece, Roscoe Mitchell, Mike Reed, Howard Reich, Tomeka Reid, Mark Ruffin, and Giovanni Russonello.  The article was published today and when asked to select “one video or audio track that you would play to make someone fall in love with the sound of the Windy City. It can be from any era, ‘jazz’ subgenre, artist, etc.”, it was very, very challenging to pick from so many incredible options connected to Chicago’s rich improvised music history.  After much consideration I chose The Art Ensemble of Chicago’s, “A Jackson in Your House”, stating:

“Any history of music from Chicago should include the far-reaching contributions of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, which was founded in 1965 on the South Side. I do not know of any other organization that brought together such an extraordinary group of innovative musicians at the same time; for example, just the reed players included in the A.A.C.M.’s initial wave of artists are all game changers: Fred Anderson, Anthony Braxton, Joseph Jarman, Roscoe Mitchell and Henry Threadgill.

The Art Ensemble of Chicago grew out of the A.A.C.M.’s early meetings, and went on to become arguably the organization’s flagship ensemble. The Art Ensemble’s performance of “A Jackson in Your House,” from a concert at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago, exhibits so many aspects of what made their music very different from the paradigms that had been set in New York. I’m talking about the ensemble’s use of “little instruments”; its exploration of low dynamics and texture; the impact of theater, satire, free rhythm and a New Orleans second-line groove; representation of African ancestry; beautiful melodicism — all in the same piece. To my knowledge, this mix of materials wasn’t happening anywhere else. Those radical aesthetics have now become part of the broader lexicon of contemporary creative music.”

It is a true honor to be connected to the ongoing history of music from Chicago.

Link to full article: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/05/arts/music/chicago-jazz-music.html?unlocked_article_code=1.1k4.-bHc.ZPxmr1XFTnvC&smid=url-share#

Link to a performance of “A Jackson in Your House” by the Art Ensemble of Chicago from 1981:

[photo of the Art Ensemble of Chicago by Tom Copi/Michael Ochs Archives, via Getty Images]