Avreeayl Ra Archives - Chicago Reader

A collage of three black-and-white photos, clockwise from upper left: Sun Ra, Phil Cohran, and members of the AACM, probably in 1968. Left to right, on the ground: Wadada Leo Smith, Sarnie Garrett, Wadsworth Jarrell Jr., Muhal Richard Abrams, Wallace McMillan, Douglas Ewart, John Stubblefield, Steve McCall, and Henry Threadgill. On the stairs: Buford Kirkwood, John Shenoy Jackson, Lester Lashley, and Martin "Sparx" Alexander.

Chicago’s Black musical visionaries charted paths for their communities in the 1950s and ’60s

by Bill Meyer January 27, 2022January 27, 2022

Since the 1950s, Chicago has hosted a succession of visionary Black musical groups and societies. They’re best known as purveyors of avant-garde jazz, but that characterization sells short Sun Ra and his Arkestra, the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), and Phil Cohran’s Artistic Heritage Ensemble. Each was—and in some cases still is—a […]

A man playing the saxophone while another man drums

Music

Dave Rempis and Avreeayl Ra’s saxophone-drums duo comes in from the COVID cold

by Bill Meyer December 28, 2021January 4, 2022

Bennu, the first duo recording by saxophonist Dave Rempis and drummer Avreeayl Ra, takes its name from an avian Egyptian divinity that created itself and also helped bring the world into being. It’s a fitting title for a completely improvised performance, especially one that ended the longest stretch without a gig that either had endured […]

Music

Ari Brown belongs in Chicago’s canon of great tenor saxophonists

by Steve Krakow July 15, 2021August 18, 2021

Ari Brown hasn’t often sought the spotlight, but his blend of bebop rigor and avant-garde daring puts him on par with the likes of Fred Anderson and Von Freeman.

Music

The Hyde Park Jazz Festival takes it to the streets

by Bill Meyer October 1, 2020August 18, 2021

With short sets from small groups in unexpected spots, the Hyde Park Jazz Festival creates a communal experience that’s pandemic safe.

Music

Chicago’s September jazz festivals cope with COVID

by Bill Meyer August 27, 2020August 18, 2021

The city is replacing the Chicago Jazz Festival with a slimmed-down online event, while the smaller, nimbler Hyde Park Jazz Festival plans to try pop-up in-person shows.

Music

Avreeayl Ra and Time Machine guide the way from suffering to healing at Jazz Occurrence 21

by Audrey Henderson December 13, 2019August 18, 2021

People with synesthesia perceive things typically associated with one sense, such as sound, through one or more additional senses, such as sight, taste, smell, or touch—a B-minor chord, for instance, might register as green. A number of famous musicians, including Mary J. Blige, Pharrell Williams, and Lady Gaga, have claimed to have (or are believed […]