JOSEPH JARMAN - from " The Art Ensemble Of Chicago " – Song For (1967) / Goody LP-1971

Label: Goody – GY 30003 / Goody Series Vol. 3
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Unofficial Release
Country: France - Released: 1971
Style: Free Jazz, Free Improvisation
Recorded 1966, Sound Studios Inc., Chicago
Engineer – Stu Black
Liner Notes – Claude Delcloo
Photography By [Photo] – Philippe Gras
Producer – Robert G. Koester
Producer [Serie Directed By] – Claude Delcloo, Jean Luc Young
Supervised By – Chuck Nessa

A1 - Little Fox Run  7:00
A2 - Non-Cognitive Aspects Of The City  14:00
B1 - Adam's Rib  5:52
B2 - Song For  13:23

JOSEPH JARMAN – alto saxophone, voice [recitation]
FRED ANDERSON – tenor saxophone (tracks: A1, B1, B2)
WILLIAM BRINFIELD – trumpet (tracks: A1, B1, B2)
CHRISTOPHER GADDY – piano, marimba
CHARLES CLARK – bass
STEVE McCALL – drums (tracks: A1, B1, B2)
THURMAN BARKER – drums (track A2)

Delmark cover (LP-1967)

Description:
Chicago, 1966: the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians had just formed; the Art Ensemble of Chicago was slowly coalescing. Multi-reeds player Joseph Jarman gathered some of the top players in this nascent Chicago scene (including Fred Anderson and Steve McCall), creating a recording that is near archetypal in its sound. All of the characteristic elements of the AACM sound are here: the cooperative spirit of the players, the use of so-called "little instruments" and innovative textures, and the alternating of wild free- blowing with a disciplined invocation of silences. Thurman Barker joins McCall on drums; their thoroughly melodic drumming is masterful. Along with some of Roscoe Mitchell's early efforts and early Art Ensemble recordings, this is an essential window into one of the most fertile and imaginative eras in jazz.

Joseph Jarman - 1966: Part wizard, part priest, balancing on the cusp of two groups. His first opportunity to record his music presents a dilemma - which he solves by involving all. We should be thankful for the resultant music. Not only did he reveal some of himself, but gave us an introduction to the compositions and playing of (Bill) Brimfield and Fred (Anderson), the percussive delights of Thurman (Barker) and Steve (McCall), the best documentation of Charles Clark and the only offerings of Christopher Gaddy that we can now experience.
_ By MICHAEL MONHART


This was one of the early classics of the AACM. Altoist Joseph Jarman, who would become a permanent member of the Art Ensemble of Chicago shortly after this recording, is heard in a sextet with trumpeter William Brimfield, the legendary tenor Fred Anderson, pianist Christopher Gaddy, bassist Charles Clark, and either Steve McCall or Thurman Barker on drums. The four very diverse improvisations include one that showcases a Jarman recitation, a dirge, the intense "Little Fox Run," and the title cut, which contrasts sounds and a creative use of silence. Overall, this music was the next step in jazz after the high-energy passions of the earlier wave of the avant-garde started to run out of fresh ideas. It's recommended for open- eared listeners...
_ Review by SCOTT YANOW



If you find it, buy this album!