Roscoe Mitchell is an American composer, jazz instrumentalist, and educator, known for being "a technically superb – if idiosyncratic – saxophonist". The Penguin Guide to Jazz described him as "one of the key figures" in avant-garde jazz; All About Jazz stated in 2004 that he had been "at the forefront of modern music" for more than 35 years. Critic Jon Pareles in The New York Times has mentioned that Mitchell "qualifies as an iconoclast". In addition to his own work as a bandleader, Mitchell is known for cofounding the Art Ensemble of Chicago and the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM).
Pi Recordings is a jazz record label founded by Seth Rosner in 2001. He was soon joined as partner by Yulun Wang. Pi specializes in avant-garde jazz. Its first two albums were by Henry Threadgill.
Vijay Iyer is an American composer, pianist, bandleader, producer and writer based in New York City. The New York Times has called him a "social conscience, multimedia collaborator, system builder, rhapsodist, historical thinker and multicultural gateway". Iyer received a 2013 MacArthur Fellowship, a Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, a United States Artists Fellowship, a Grammy nomination, and the Alpert Award in the Arts. He was voted Jazz Artist of the Year in the DownBeat magazine international critics' polls in 2012, 2015, 2016, and 2018. In 2014, he received a lifetime appointment as the Franklin D. and Florence Rosenblatt Professor of the Arts at Harvard University, where he was jointly appointed in the Department of Music and the Department of African and African American Studies.
A Jackson in Your House is a 1969 album by the Art Ensemble of Chicago recorded for the French BYG Actuel label. It features performances by Lester Bowie, Joseph Jarman, Roscoe Mitchell and Malachi Favors Maghostut. When issued on CD by Affinity in 1989, the track "The Waltz" was replaced by a six-minute live excerpt entitled "Hey Friend" which has never reappeared on any subsequent reissue.
Sound is the debut album by free jazz saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell, recorded in 1966 and released on the Delmark label. It features performances by Mitchell, Lester Bowie, Malachi Favors, Maurice McIntyre, Lester Lashley and Alvin Fielder. The CD reissue includes two takes of "Sound", which were edited together to form the original LP version, and an alternative take of "Ornette".
Nice Guys is a 1979 album by the Art Ensemble of Chicago, their first to appear on the ECM label.
Full Force is a 1980 album by the Art Ensemble of Chicago, their second to appear on the ECM label.
Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City: Live at the Iridium is a live album by the Art Ensemble of Chicago recorded in April, 2004 at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York City and released in 2006 on the Pi Recordings label. It features performances by Joseph Jarman, Roscoe Mitchell and Don Moye with trumpeter Corey Wilkes and bassist Jaribu Shahid replacing the late Lester Bowie and Malachi Favors Maghostut.
Sirius Calling is an album by the Art Ensemble of Chicago recorded in April, 2003 in Madison, Wisconsin and released in 2004 on the Pi Recordings label. It features performances by Joseph Jarman, Roscoe Mitchell and Don Moye with Malachi Favors Maghostut on what would be the final album before his death. It was recorded on April 24–26, 2003 in Madison, WI.
Far Side is a live album by jazz saxophonist and composer Roscoe Mitchell and The Note Factory recorded in Germany in 2007 and released on the ECM label.
This Dance Is for Steve McCall is an album by American jazz saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell which was recorded in 1992 and released on the Italian Black Saint label.
Snurdy McGurdy and Her Dancin' Shoes is an album by American jazz saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell which was recorded in 1980 and released on Nessa. It was the debut of the Sound Ensemble which introduced four young musicians: trumpeter Hugh Ragin, guitarist A. Spencer Barefield, bassist Jaribu Shahid and drummer Tani Tabbal. The album was reissued on CD in 2003.
Turn is an album by American jazz saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell which was recorded in 2005 and released on the French RogueArt label. He leads a new quintet with longtime rhythm section Jaribu Shahid on bass and Tani Tabbal on drums, pianist Craig Taborn and new Art Ensemble of Chicago trumpeter Corey Wilkes.
Hey Donald is an album by the American jazz saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell, recorded in 1994 and released on Delmark. It was the first recording by a quartet featuring pianist Jodie Christian, bassist Malachi Favors and drummer Albert "Tootie" Heath. The album is dedicated to Earth Wind & Fire saxophonist Donald Myrick.
Daylight Ghosts is an album by Craig Taborn, with Chris Speed, Chris Lightcap, and Dave King. It was released by ECM Records in 2017.
Blood Sutra is an album by pianist Vijay Iyer recorded in 2003 and originally released on the Artists House label before being reissued on Pi Recordings in 2006.
Reimagining is an album by American jazz pianist Vijay Iyer, which was recorded in 2004, originally released on the Savoy label and reissued in Europe by Pi Recordings. The follow-up to Blood Sutra, the record features nine Iyer's compositions for his quartet with Rudresh Mahanthappa on alto sax, Stephan Crump on bass and Marcus Gilmore on drums, and a solo piano interpretation of John Lennon's "Imagine".
Bells for the South Side is a double album by American jazz saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell, which was recorded live in 2015 at Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago in the context of The Freedom Principle, a 50th-anniversary exhibition devoted to the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, and released on ECM.
In Walked Buckner is an album by American saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell which was recorded in Chicago in 1998 and released on Delmark the following year. The album is dedicated to vocalist Thomas Buckner.
The Transitory Poems is a live album by pianists Vijay Iyer and Craig Taborn. The album was recorded in March 2018 and released a year later by ECM Records.
