‘The Art Ensemble of Chicago and Associated Ensembles’ Review: First-Rate Riffs From the Second City

Some of the best work of one of the greatest groups in jazz is celebrated in a new mammoth boxed set, “The Art Ensemble of Chicago and Associated Ensembles” (ECM). The package features 21 discs, including five essential recordings from the Art Ensemble, as well as individually led and sideman projects by its members. It is a vital document of jazz in the late ’70s and early ’80s, and it offers clear sonic through-lines to some of today’s most important bands.

The Art Ensemble was an outgrowth of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, a not-for-profit collective that formed in Chicago in 1965. Four of the original band members—trumpeter Lester Bowie (who died in 1999), bassist Malachi Favors (who passed away in 2004), and reedmen Joseph Jarman (who left the group in 1993) and Roscoe Mitchell—played together on several recordings before forming the Art Ensemble in 1969. The group made an immediate impact. Their appearance was theatrical: Favors and Mr. Jarman wore face paint and flamboyant robes, Bowie usually donned a white lab coat, and Mr. Mitchell often wore business suits. In addition to their primary instruments, each member played a variety of others—ranging from small drums to car horns and whistles. Percussionist Famoudou Don Moye joined the band in 1970, solidifying the lineup for the next quarter-century.