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Art Ensemble of Chicago


GregK

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I shall have to get this. I'll be interrested to hear the different sound. Corey Wilkes hasn't had the best of comments on this board, which I suppose is understandable as Bowie is irreplaceable. Shahid isn't exactly Favors either but I suspect there will be enough here for some decent listening in the AEOC vein.

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I shall have to get this. I'll be interrested to hear the different sound. Corey Wilkes hasn't had the best of comments on this board, which I suppose is understandable as Bowie is irreplaceable. Shahid isn't exactly Favors either but I suspect there will be enough here for some decent listening in the AEOC vein.

"Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City: Live at Iridium" is an excellent release that is superbly recorded. Why anyone would bad mouth Wilkes because he isn't Lester Bowie is beyond me. Wilkes is an superb trumpeter who brings a lot to the group. His strength is that he doesn't try to fill Bowie's shoes; he does his own thing. It's a different group now and I'm just grateful they're carrying on. If someone doesn't like it then they should listen to something else instead of bitching about it. I've had it for two days so it's still too early to properly judge but thus far it's a five star release in my book.

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They sustain the collective with over lapping layers of creativity throughout "On the Mountain."

Big Red Peaches was written for an Odwalla juice commercial, and recorded with an r&b sound on Mitchell's Note Factory ECM record "Nine to Get Ready." Love hearing Jarman sing the lyric to Odwalla, even though his voice is what it is.

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I may have to look into it now--never had a problem with Wilkes, and I'm curious as to where the controversy stems from.

On a (lighter) side note--it's nice to see the dumbfounded reaction on the health nuts's faces when you talk about the AEC/Odwalla connection. My girlfriend just stares at me every time.

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Dipped in Avant-Garde Turbulence or Psychedelic Fusion

By NATE CHINEN

Published: August 6, 2006

Art Ensemble of Chicago

In some quarters the mere arrival of a new release by the Art Ensemble of Chicago is cause enough to stimulate spending. But “Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City: Live at Iridium” (Pi Recordings) might initially seem better suited to spark debate. It was recorded in spring 2004, only two months after the death of the ensemble’s original bassist, Malachi Favors Maghostut. The album captures one of the group’s first public appearances with Corey Wilkes, a hotshot conscripted to fill the shoes of another founding father, the trumpeter Lester Bowie. And it documents a six-night run that started shakily, in a club perilously close to the heart of Times Square, not exactly the ideal environment for avant-garde concert music. All qualifiers aside, though, it’s an excellent listen, turbulent and touching enough to withstand comparison with the band’s rarefied back catalog. Mr. Wilkes plays commandingly without channeling his precursor, a feat echoed by the bassist Jaribu Shahid. There are loosely swinging horn asides and rustling toy-instrument interludes, serene poetic utterances by the multireedist Joseph Jarman, and texture-oriented grooves from the drummer Famoudou Don Moye. The most galvanizing figure is the saxophonist, flutist and percussionist Roscoe Mitchell, who contributes all but one of the album’s brainy but warm-blooded compositions.

New York Times- Sunday Edition - Arts & Leisure

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On a (lighter) side note--it's nice to see the dumbfounded reaction on the health nuts's faces when you talk about the AEC/Odwalla connection. My girlfriend just stares at me every time.

That's why I drink Odwalla instead of Naked!

I actually don't know the specific details of the connection - they sponsored some concerts, right? Or was it just the commercial, as Lazaro states?

Edited by clifford_thornton
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Hi Cliff,

Big Red Peaches was a "commission," if you will, for a commercial. I think they also did one called "Grape Escape" for them. The company naming itself "Odwalla" to the best of my knowledge came from the company's founder appreciating the Art Ensemble.

The fruit juice company also produced that last Atlantic recording, too, didn't they? The one recorded in Jamaica, where I'm sure a high time was enjoyed by all.

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Hi Cliff,

Big Red Peaches was a "commission," if you will, for a commercial. I think they also did one called "Grape Escape" for them. The company naming itself "Odwalla" to the best of my knowledge came from the company's founder appreciating the Art Ensemble.

The fruit juice company also produced that last Atlantic recording, too, didn't they? The one recorded in Jamaica, where I'm sure a high time was enjoyed by all.

Yes, Grape Escape and Odwalla Theme were on Coming Home Jamaica. The liner notes elaborate on the Odwalla connection I believe... it's been a while and can't recall the specific content.

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Hi Cliff,

Big Red Peaches was a "commission," if you will, for a commercial. I think they also did one called "Grape Escape" for them. The company naming itself "Odwalla" to the best of my knowledge came from the company's founder appreciating the Art Ensemble.

The fruit juice company also produced that last Atlantic recording, too, didn't they? The one recorded in Jamaica, where I'm sure a high time was enjoyed by all.

Yes, Grape Escape and Odwalla Theme were on Coming Home Jamaica. The liner notes elaborate on the Odwalla connection I believe... it's been a while and can't recall the specific content.

Oh, and Strawberry Mango too!

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