CD of the week
Ronald Atkins
A legend of the Sixties, the Art Ensemble of Chicago did not start until 1969, and then came together in Paris, rather than the Windy City. Their collaboration made a splash which lasted three decades.
Coming Home Jamaica (Birdology) was recorded a few years ago by the four surviving members and it may seem unadventurous given their reputation. Reflecting the often aggressively slanted black consciousness of the Sixties, the band used war paint and wore masks on stage; as time passed, the more elaborate their costumes the less threatening the music.
Perhaps the separate careers of the main participants offer a clue. Lester Bowie runs the extrovert Brass Fantasy. Roscoe Mitchell has tended on his own to favour the more rarefied elements of modernism. Bowie might let off a few rockets as Mitchell toys with the blues, and the crossover works brilliantly. At times they home in on Jamaica, where the album was recorded. Strawberry Mango unfolds over a typical West Indian beat, while Mama Wants You inserts some Jamaican rhythms around a playful theme.
It’s doubtful whether Bowie has played more affecting solos: no pseudo-progressive frills, just straight blowing that bears witness to a lifetime’s exploration of growls, slurs, squeezed-valve raspberries and other refinements of the jazz trumpeter’s art.