The Walker Art Center celebrates the 35th anniversary of the Chicago-based Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) with Creative Black Music: Ancient to the Future, a three-day festival on Thursday-Saturday, November 16-18. For more than three decades, AACM has flourished as an independent artist collective for black music that has had an enormous influence around the world. The AACM spawned some of the most important musical visionaries of our times--the Art Ensemble of Chicago, George Lewis, Henry Threadgill, Lester Bowie, Anthony Braxton, and many others. Over the years, several key AACM members and collaborators, including past AACM president Douglas Ewart and collaborator Carei Thomas, moved to the Twin Cities and helped anchor and enliven its experimental music scene.
Creative Black Music: Ancient to the Future features national and resident ensembles in performance and other activities that shed light on the essential role the AACM has played in the life of creative American music-making. The series, co-curated by Walker Performing Arts Curator Philip Bither and Ewart, is supported in part with funds from the Doris Duke Fund for Jazz and Dance. A complete festival listing follows.
Muhal Richard Abrams Quartet/Carei Thomas:
Returnings/The Everpresent Discovery
Thursday, November 16, 8 pm, $18 ($14 Walker members)
Purchase tickets for both Thursday and Saturday performances for $25 ($20 Walker members)
Auditorium
The celebration kicks off with a rare appearance by the co-founder and first president of the AACM, pianist Muhal Richard Abrams, an internationally recognized composer and leading figure of postmodern and new music. His vanguard approach to the piano embraces a wide range of styles, from ragtime and stride to bebop to open improvisation. His quartet includes Gerald Cleaver (drums), Brad Jones (bass), and Aaron Stewart (tenor sax). Opening the evening is Minneapolis' own pianist-composer Carei Thomas with a sextet that encompasses his diverse and inspired career, from his years collaborating with AACM members to his work in the Twin Cities at the Rainbow Gallery to his more recent new-music compositions. His ensemble includes Chicago's Su Ra P. Dupart (percussion), Kalaparusha Ahrah Difda (aka Maurice McIntyre) (tenor sax) from New York, and Twin Cities jazz masters Anthony Cox (bass), Sonny Covington (trumpet), and Donald Washington (alto sax and flute), with special appearances by resident artists Mankwe Ndosi and Louis Alemayhu.
AACM Panel Discussion/Reception
Friday, November 17, 8 pm, $6 (Free to festival pass holders)
Gallery 8 Restaurant
Three generations of AACM members--including Joseph Jarman, Wadada Leo Smith, and Fred Anderson; Ann Ward and Maia of Ye'Bindu; and Twin Cities residents Douglas Ewart, Carei Thomas, and others--participate in a discussion about the history, the present, and the future of the AACM. Moderated by Janis Lane-Ewart, former Executive Director of the AACM. A reception with the artists and speakers follows.
Douglas Ewart and Inventions, Featuring Joseph Jarman and Wadada Leo Smith/Maia & Ye'Bindu/Fred Anderson Trio
Saturday, November 18, 8 pm, $18 ($14 Walker members)
Purchase tickets for both Thursday and Saturday performances for $25 ($20 Walker members)
Auditorium
This powerhouse triple bill features Chicago tenor legend Anderson (along with the remarkable percussionist Hamid Drake and bassist Tatsu Aoki); a quartet version of the captivating all-female AACM ensemble Ye'Bindu (Mother's Pearl) with Maia (vibraphone, flute, vocals), Cecile Savage (bass, vocals), Nikki Mitchell (flute, percussion, vocals), and Ann E. Ward (piano, percussion, vocals); and the debut performance of a new musical collective led by three of the leading forces of musical innovation, Art Ensemble of Chicago co-founder Joseph Jarman (multi-instrumentalist), vanguard composer-trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, and multi-instrumentalist Douglas Ewart, joined by Chicago bass player Darius Savage, drummer Hamid Drake, and the Twin Cities' Steve Goldstein (electronic drums) and Louis Alemayhu (spoken word).
Festival tickets can be purchased at the Walker box office or by calling 612.375.7622. Online tickets: www.walkerart.org/tickets/.
The Walker Art Center's Performing Arts Program is generously supported by funds from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation through the Doris Duke Fund for Jazz and Dance and the Doris Duke Performing Arts Endowment Fund, and The McKnight Foundation.
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