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 […]
Tag: Muhal Richard Abrams
Posted inMusic
Ari Brown belongs in Chicago’s canon of great tenor saxophonists
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.
Posted inMusic
Bob Koester leaves a colossal legacy in Chicago jazz and blues
For nearly 70 years, Bob Koester owned the Jazz Record Mart and Delmark Records—and though his businesses could be “crazy town,” they helped nurture thriving communities.
Posted inMusic
Chicago’s September jazz festivals cope with COVID
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.
Posted inMusic
Remembering drummer, pharmacist, activist, and seeker Alvin Fielder
A charter member of the AACM and a longtime partner of saxophonist Kidd Jordan, drummer Alvin Fielder was an encyclopedia of jazz history with an eye on the future.
Posted inMusic
Angel Bat Dawid taps into the root of all black music
Chicago singer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Angel Bat Dawid talks about the improvisation and inspiration that shaped her new album, The Oracle.
Posted inMusic
Extraordinary Popular Delusions play free jazz two centuries deep
The members of Extraordinary Popular Delusions bring vast and varied experience to this underappreciated ensemble’s regular weekly shows—which follow no rules but their own.
Posted inBlogs
Influential pianist, composer, and AACM cofounder Muhal Richard Abrams dies at 87
Muhal Richard Abrams earned the love and respect of peers and listeners alike with his erudition, vision, and self-determined creative path.
Posted inMusic
Phil Cohran shaped the Black Arts Movement with his vision and discipline
Secret History pays tribute to its first subject, the late Phil Cohran, who cofounded the AACM, formed the Artistic Heritage Ensemble, and launched the Affro-Arts Theater.
Posted inMusic
Your comprehensive guide to the 37th annual Chicago Jazz Festival
Previews of every act in Millennium Park and beyond, including Fred Hersch in his overdue festival debut and AACM cofounder Muhal Richard Abrams leading a historic reunion of the Experimental Band
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Why the AACM and AfriCOBRA still matter
MCA curator Naomi Beckwith discusses a new exhibit called “The Freedom Principle” that connects the legacy of the Black Arts Movement to current cultural and political battles.
Posted inMusic
An interview with MacArthur ‘genius,’ jazz pianist, and composer Vijay Iyer
Vijay Iyer’s mutant style should make him one of the most interesting draws at this year’s Chicago Humanities Festival.
Posted inMusic
Thursday and Friday: 2013 Chicago Jazz Festival according to Reader writers
Jack DeJohnette and Wadada Leo Smith are just two of the highlights of the first two days of the 2013 Chicago Jazz Festival.
Posted inMusic
The Reader’s guide to the 35th annual Chicago Jazz Festival
The Chicago Jazz Festival moves to Millennium Park with its best lineup in five years.
Posted inFilm
The lost Chicago of Medium Cool
With Medium Cool, Haskell Wexler had more on his mind than just the Democratic Convention.