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Art Ensemble Of Chicago – Live
Delmark DE 432
Compact Disc (1991)

76 minutes of music, recorded live at Mandel Hall, University of Chicago.

January 15, 1972. After what seemed a very long time, the Art Ensemble was back from residence in Europe. his concert was a combination “Hey, we're back”/”welcome home” affair for the homefolk. And a new beginning of sorts for five amazing spirits.

Lester Bowie: trumpet, percussion instruments
Malachi Favors Maghostut: bass, percussion instruments, vocals
Joseph Jarman: saxophones, clarinets, percussion instruments
Roscoe Mitchell: saxophones, clarinets, flute, percussion instruments
Don Moye: drums, percussion

This CD documents a performance at the University of Chicago's Mandel Hall in 1972, the group's triumphal homecoming after a three-year stay in Europe. In the interim, percussionist Don Moye had become a full fledged member of the group, providing consistent drive and acting as a central focus for the extended percussion music that was increasingly a part of the music. The CD runs over 76 minutes and lists four pieces, but it's programmed as a single track. It's a virtually seamless musical journey that begins with Joseph Jarman's wailing alto and seems to move toward the heart of rhythm with instruments ranging from log drums to brake drums, saxophones to bicycle horns. The concert climaxes in an extended bass solo by Malachi Favors--the instrument first plucked and then bowed--that's a fitting reflection on the forces unleashed. --Stuart Broomer