A Jackson In Your House, Message To Our Folks Media Book

All of the material on these three original albums was recorded in Paris during 1969, when the group was still a quartet, before Don Moye joined up. There's an amazing variety of different musics here, as well as plenty of the freeform improvisations for which they are known. Check out their takes on rock, Dixieland, spoken-word, gospel and straight-ahead bebop. These guys are never less than interesting. I sometimes think of the Art Ensemble as a great sonic palate cleanser or a righteous karmic brain flush. Regardless of how strange or off-putting their music might sound to folks used to more "straight-ahead" jazz, I guarantee you that once you get hit in your soul, there ain't no turning back.

A pair of classic albums from Art Ensemble Of Chicago, from the early 70's. Great music here, and well worth having as a double CD. I just wish it had been packaged in a jewel case, instead of this sort of book style package.

This package includes three works, "A Jackson in Your House", "Message to Our Folks", and "Reese and the Smooth Ones"---all created in 1969, when the Art Ensemble was in Paris and produced eight different albums in the course of a year. I score the albums like this: "A Jackson..." FIVE STARS "Message to Our Folks" FOUR STARS "Reese and..." THREE STARS. "Reese and the Smooth Ones" is an album-long improvisation, and it has periods of monotony. I find that I usually enjoy the Art Ensemble more when the compositions are shorter and more variable, as on "A Jackson..." and "Message...". These albums were recorded when the Art Ensemble was "finding its feet" creatively, and they are remarkable. The Art Ensemble was a group that combined jazz with 20th Century classical modernism. Unlike other jazz "avant-gardists", they didn't just screech furiously... they were unusually playful in their approach, and notable for making "spatial music". They functioned as conjurers and griots, believing that every sound carries associations and meanings. As to the individual cuts: "A Jackson in Your House" is like a musical version of Bill Cosby. There's a chortling recitation: "One, two, three, there's a Jackson in your house, and he will never catch a mow-how-house!" A "Jackson" refers to a ne'er do well. The verse is recited over a sea shanty rhythm, then the tune veers into New Orleans' style hothouse jazz. "Get in Line" is an all out jungle stampede by the horns, while Malachi Favors shouts "get in line!" like a drill sergeant. Anarchy prevails. "The Waltz" is a miniature, a satire of sleepy ballroom music. It teeters along, then crashes. "Ericka" is a recited poem with moody accompaniment, expressing anxiety about social upheaval and a young girl's future. "Can we endure?" the narrator asks. The music, embellished with thumb piano, harmonica, chimes and various jangles, evokes breezes blowing through an empty room. "Song for Charles" is dedicated to the memory of Charles Clark, a talented double bass player who died prematurely. It starts lyrically and then becomes dark and gothic. You'll wonder how Malachi Favors got those sounds out of his acoustic bass. "Old Time Religion" relates to prayer meetings-- a preacher shouts biblical rants over a heaving arco bass rhythm, and bestial responses resolve into the tune, "Give Me That Old Time Religion", relating religion to slavery. The impression is dark, like one of the archetypal scenes the artist Kara Walker creates. "Dexterity" is straightforward be-bop jazz, but taken into the territory of Eric Dolphy and Albert Ayler. "Rock Out" is a mixture of James Brown and Captain Beefheart. Malachi Favors lays down some fleet-fingered funk, while Joseph Jarman adds some very abstract guitar fills. A marvel (and highly danceable). " A Brain for the Seine" is more musical Dadaism, a room of enchanted little instruments that seem to be expressing themselves while their masters are away. These improvisations intersect with jazz, but depart from that definition considerably. They will challenge any listener, but remain stimulating. The Art Ensemble with these compositions forces a kind of deeper listening---which in itself is rewarding.