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LP
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PL 135LP
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On May 28, 1969, four American musicians -- reed/wind players Roscoe Mitchell and Joseph Jarman, bassist Malachi Favors, and (accompanied by his wife, singer Fontella Bass) trumpeter Lester Bowie -- boarded the ocean liner S.S. United States, bound for Le Havre, France. After landing five days later, they moved on to Paris, where they got to work. On August 22, 1970, in the waning days of their stay overseas, the group, with Bass on vocals, would record their second release for EMI's Pathé Marconi: the movie soundtrack Les Stances à Sophie. The record, an exciting, eminently listenable combination of soul, classical, and jazz strains that survives as the Art Ensemble of Chicago's most stylistically diverse album, has long been admired by a devoted cult. Its durability is largely due to the popularity of its "hit": Over the years, "Theme de Yoyo" has been covered repeatedly, essayed by acts as varied as German funk band the Boogoos (and the offshoot Deep Jazz, both featuring singer Julia Fehenbeger), British nu-jazz combo the Cinematic Orchestra, Polish jazz man Wojtek Mazolewski, Norwegian rockers Motorpsycho, French dance music artist Étienne Jaumet, and London-based remixer, Shall I Bruk It. More than half a century later, "Theme de Yoyo" and Les Stances à Sophie still bring it. Limited-edition LP reissue from play loud! Productions, supplemented with new notes by U.S. music journalist Chris Morris.
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2CD
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ROG 123CD
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"The Art Ensemble Of Chicago, expanding to a chamber orchestra, marks its sixth decade as a vital force on the world music stage with an ear-opening live recording on two LPs. Recorded in France in 2020 at the Son D'Hiver Festival, this recording celebrates the legendary group's historic ties to Paris, where it was formed in 1968. When trumpet great Lester Bowie died in 1999, followers of the Art Ensemble of Chicago couldn't help but wonder whether the legendary quintet, which owed so much to his special and outlandish gifts, would -- or should -- go on. That it did, in his memory, with no loss of spirit. But the subsequent passing of two other founding members Malachi Favors Maghostut in 2004 and Joseph Jarman in 2019, made it even more difficult to envision a future for the band. Leave it to the AEC's proud surviving members, saxophonist/composer Roscoe Mitchell and drummer/percussionist Famoudou Don Moye to keep its flame glowing. In typical bold fashion, they not only extended the life of this beloved band, they redefined it in glorious and unexpected ways. With the addition of brilliant young players including poet and spoken word artist Moor Mother, cellist Tomeka Reid and violinist Jean Cook, and esteemed elders including trumpeter Hugh Ragin, flutist Nicole Mitchell, and bassist Jaribu Shahid, AEC became a full-fledged chamber orchestra. 'Come rejoice in a higher place!' urges the magnetic Moor Mother. In both honoring the band's illustrious history and soaring to new creative heights as a 17-member aggregation, Mitchell and Moye and company do just that. Would AEC have become the creative force it is had it not gotten the opportunity to find itself in Paris all those years ago? Will AEC return to celebrate their seventh? 'We can't control the clock, everything takes place in its own time,' says Mitchell. Don't be surprised if the time continues to be right for the AEC for years to come."
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2LP
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ROG 122LP
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"The Art Ensemble Of Chicago, expanding to a chamber orchestra, marks its sixth decade as a vital force on the world music stage with an ear-opening live recording on two LPs. Recorded in France in 2020 at the Son D'Hiver Festival, this recording celebrates the legendary group's historic ties to Paris, where it was formed in 1968. When trumpet great Lester Bowie died in 1999, followers of the Art Ensemble of Chicago couldn't help but wonder whether the legendary quintet, which owed so much to his special and outlandish gifts, would -- or should -- go on. That it did, in his memory, with no loss of spirit. But the subsequent passing of two other founding members Malachi Favors Maghostut in 2004 and Joseph Jarman in 2019, made it even more difficult to envision a future for the band. Leave it to the AEC's proud surviving members, saxophonist/composer Roscoe Mitchell and drummer/percussionist Famoudou Don Moye to keep its flame glowing. In typical bold fashion, they not only extended the life of this beloved band, they redefined it in glorious and unexpected ways. With the addition of brilliant young players including poet and spoken word artist Moor Mother, cellist Tomeka Reid and violinist Jean Cook, and esteemed elders including trumpeter Hugh Ragin, flutist Nicole Mitchell, and bassist Jaribu Shahid, AEC became a full-fledged chamber orchestra. 'Come rejoice in a higher place!' urges the magnetic Moor Mother. In both honoring the band's illustrious history and soaring to new creative heights as a 17-member aggregation, Mitchell and Moye and company do just that. Would AEC have become the creative force it is had it not gotten the opportunity to find itself in Paris all those years ago? Will AEC return to celebrate their seventh? 'We can't control the clock, everything takes place in its own time,' says Mitchell. Don't be surprised if the time continues to be right for the AEC for years to come."
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LP
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IC 1004LP
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2015 repress. The most legendary avant-jazz group, reissued by Soul Jazz, raved about by Thurston Moore and accessible to anyone who'd normally not know a thing about this type of music. Certain Blacks was originally released in 1970 on a French label, America Music, and features one of their side-long freakouts, "Certain Blacks 'Do What They Wanna'." This is an exact repro of the 1976 reissue, released on Inner City.
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