The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) is a nonprofit organization, founded in 1965 in Chicago by pianist Muhal Richard Abrams, pianist Jodie Christian, drummer Steve McCall, and composer Phil Cohran. The AACM is devoted "to nurturing, performing, and recording serious, original music," according to its charter. It supports and encourages jazz performers, composers and educators. Although founded in the jazz tradition, the group's outreach and influence has, according to Larry Blumenfeld, "touched nearly all corners of modern music."
Mwata Bowden is an American jazz reeds player associated with the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and an instructor in improvisational Jazz at the University of Chicago. He is part of a group known as 8 Bold Souls but also frequently engages in collaborations with Tatsu Aoki, and helped establish the Miyumi Project which was a blend of music with different ethnic backgrounds, highlighting contributions from Japanese taiko drumming in the framework of jazz music.
Edward L. Wilkerson Jr. is an internationally recognized American jazz composer, arranger, musician, and educator based in Chicago. As founder and director of the cutting-edge octet 8 Bold Souls, and the 25-member performance ensemble Shadow Vignettes, Wilkerson has toured festivals and concert halls throughout the United States, Europe, Japan, and the Middle East. "Defender", a large-scale piece for Shadow Vignettes, was commissioned by the Lila Wallace/Reader's Digest Fund and featured in the 10th Anniversary of New Music America, a presentation of BAM's Next Wave Festival.
8 Bold Souls is an American jazz ensemble, led by reedist Edward Wilkerson.
The Hearinga Suite is an album by Muhal Richard Abrams released on the Italian Black Saint label in 1989 and features performances of seven of Abrams compositions by an eighteen-member orchestra. Abrams dedicated the music on the album to Steve McCall and Donald Raphael Garrett.
The Essence of George Russell is an album by American jazz composer and pianist George Russell originally released on the Swedish Sonet label in 1971, and subsequently reissued on the Italian Black Saint label in 1983. The album featuring performances by Russell with a large ensemble, mostly Nordic musicians, including Stanton Davis, Jan Garbarek, Terje Rypdal, Arild Andersen, Jon Christensen and orchestra.
New Orleans Suite is a studio album by the American pianist, composer, and bandleader Duke Ellington, recorded and released on the Atlantic label in 1970. The album contains the final recordings of longtime Ellington saxophonist Johnny Hodges, who died between the album's two recording sessions. The album won a Grammy Award in 1971 for Best Jazz Performance by a Big Band.
The Very Big Carla Bley Band is an album by American composer, bandleader and keyboardist Carla Bley released on the Watt/ECM label in 1991.
Roscoe Mitchell and the Sound and Space Ensembles is an album by jazz saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell recorded in 1983 for the Italian Black Saint label.
Ode to the Death of Jazz is an album by Finnish jazz drummer and bandleader Edward Vesala recorded over two sessions in April and May 1989 and released on ECM the following year. The ensemble consists trumpeter Matti Riikonen, woodwind section Jorma Tapio, Jouni Kannisto and Pepa Päivinen, accordionist Taito Vainio, rhythm section Jimi Sumén, Iro Haarla and Vesala, and percussionist Tim Ferchen.
Tales of the Algonquin is an album by jazz saxophonists John Surman and John Warren recorded in 1971 and released on the Deram label.
A Night at the Velvet Lounge Made in Chicago 2007 is an album by American jazz saxophonist Fred Anderson which, despite its title, was recorded live in Poznań, Poland, at the second Made in Chicago Festival, and released by Estrada Poznańska, a small Polish cultural arts agency. Anderson is accompanied by bassist Harrison Bankhead and 8 Bold Souls drummer Dushun Mosley.
Live at Baker's Keyboard Lounge is a live album by saxophonist James Carter with guests David Murray, Johnny Griffin and Franz Jackson recorded at Baker's Keyboard Lounge in 2001, and released on the Warner Bros. label in 2004.
Harrison Napoleon Bankhead III was an American jazz double-bassist.
Berlin Contemporary Jazz Orchestra is the debut album by the eponymous ensemble—conducted by founder Alexander von Schlippenbach—recorded in May 1989 and released on ECM the following year.
8 Bold Souls is the debut album by the jazz group of the same name. It was recorded in 1986 in Chicago, and was released in 1987 by Sessoms Records. The album features performances by saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer Edward Wilkerson, saxophonist Mwata Bowden, trumpeter Robert Griffin, Jr., trombonist Isaiah S. Jackson, Jr., tubist Aaron Dodd, cellist Naomi Millender, bassist Richard Jess Brown, Jr., and drummer Dushun Mosley.
Sideshow is the second album by the jazz group 8 Bold Souls. It was recorded in November 1991 in Chicago, and was released in 1992 by Arabesque Records. The album features performances by saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer Edward Wilkerson, saxophonist Mwata Bowden, trumpeter Robert Griffin, Jr., trombonist Isaiah Jackson, tubist Aaron Dodd, cellist Naomi Millender, bassist Harrison Bankhead, and drummer Dushun Mosley.
Last Option is the fourth album by the jazz group 8 Bold Souls. It was recorded in August 1999 in Chicago, and was released in 2000 by Thrill Jockey. The album features performances by saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer Edward Wilkerson, saxophonist Mwata Bowden, trumpeter Robert Griffin, Jr., trombonist Isaiah Jackson, tubist Gerald Powell, cellist Naomi Millender, bassist Harrison Bankhead, and drummer Dushun Mosley.
Morning Sun/Harvest Moon is the debut album by American jazz double-bassist Harrison Bankhead. It was recorded in April 2010 in Chicago, and was released in 2011 by Engine Studios. On the album, Bankhead is joined by saxophonists Mars Williams and Edward Wilkerson, violinist James Sanders, percussionist Ernie Adams, and drummer Avreeayl Ra.
Stone/Water is a live album by the Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet, led by saxophonist Brötzmann, and featuring a ten-piece ensemble. Documenting a performance of a single 39-minute work, it was recorded on May 23, 1999, at the Festival de Musique de Actuelle Victoriaville in Victoriaville, Quebec, Canada, and was released on CD in 2000 by Okka Disk. On the album, Brötzmann is joined by saxophonists Mats Gustafsson and Ken Vandermark, trumpeter and electronic musician Toshinori Kondo, trombonist Jeb Bishop, violinist and cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm, double bassists Kent Kessler and William Parker, and percussionists Hamid Drake and Michael Zerang.
