1. Grape Escape 
2. Odwalla Theme 
3. Jamaica Farewell 
4. Mama Wants You 
5. Strawberry Mango 
6. Villa Tiamo 
7. Malachi 
8. Lotta Colada

Musicians:
Bahnamous Lee Bowie - Keyboards
Lester Bowie - Composer, Drums (Bass), Flugelhorn, Trumpet
Malachi Favors 	- Bass, Bells, Composer, Percussion, Whistle (Human)
Roscoe Mitchell - Bamboo Flute, Bamboo Saxophone, Bells, Chimes, Composer, 
Flute, Piccolo, Sax (Alto), Sax (Baritone), Sax (Soprano), Sax (Tenor), Whistle (Human)
Famoudou Don Moye - Bells, Bendir, Bongos, Congas, Drums, Maracas, Percussion,
Tambourine, Timbales

From the looks of things, the Art Ensemble's first studio album in roughly six years was recorded under vacation-like conditions -- on a resort-like compound in Bonham Springs, Jamaica during winter 1995/96. Saxophonist Joseph Jarman had long since departed, leaving Lester Bowie, Roscoe Mitchell, Malachi Favors and Famoudou Don Moye to bask in the Caribbean sun, with more than two months of studio rehearsal time (courtesy of the Odwalla juice company) to use up. Accordingly, the whole album seems to have a relaxed, carefree, even at times lackadaisical feeling, best when celebrating AEC's good fortune ("Grape Escape"), worst when dragging through the mostly torporous "Malachi." At 12½ minutes, "Mama Wants You" is the central work, consuming about two-fifths of the playing time. With a bebop frontline opening, Moye's unpredictable drums signal an eventual disintegration into free near-chaos before landing back in bopland down the stretch. They attempt some off-kilter reggae on "Strawberry Mango" (Bowie's son Bahnamous kicks in some uncredited rhythm piano on this one) and half-hearted calypso on "Lotta Colada"; otherwise, local color is kept at arm's length ("Jamaica Farewell" bears no relation to the Belafonte hit; it's just a brief collective recitative). In other words, this AEC working holiday is not going to push many envelopes. --- Richard S. Ginell, Rovi

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01. Illistrum 
02. Barnyard Scuffel Shuffel 
03. Nonaah 
04. Fanfare for the Warriors 
05. What's to Say 
06. Tnoona 
07. The Key

Personnel:
    Lester Bowie - trumpet, percussion instruments
    Malachi Favors Maghostut - bass, percussion instruments, vocals
    Joseph Jarman - saxophones, clarinets, percussion instruments
    Roscoe Mitchell - saxophones, clarinets, flute, percussion instruments
    Don Moye - drums, percussion
    Muhal Richard Abrams – piano

The compositions on this 1973 studio recording demonstrate some of the individual directions that its members brought to the Art Ensemble. Lester Bowie's "Barnyard Scuffel Shuffle" suggests a key source in the music of Charles Mingus with a kinetic mix of swing, R&B, bop, and free-jazz elements, with Joseph Jarman and Roscoe Mitchell providing great honking tenors. "Nonaah" is an intriguing early performance of a permutational composition that Mitchell has continued to recast to the present. Jarman's title piece is a driving free-jazz anthem, highlighted by the composer's blazing alto solo. Muhal Richard Abrams, a crucial early mentor, is added to the Ensemble for much of the date. His piano is a striking complement to the group, thoughtfully expanding the music's harmonic languages. ---Stuart Broomer, Editorial Review

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01. Ja 
02. Nice Guys 
03. Folkus 
04. 597-59 
05. Cyp 
06. Dreaming Of The Master

Personnel:
    Lester Bowie - trumpet, celeste, bass drum
    Malachi Favors Maghostut -  bass, percussion instruments, melodica
    Joseph Jarman - saxophones, clarinets, percussion instruments, vocal
    Roscoe Mitchell - saxophones, clarinets, flute, percussion instruments
    Don Moye - drums, percussion, vocal

Nice Guys was the first Art Ensemble of Chicago album released after a five-year recording hiatus and the group's first for the ECM label. During those five years, the Art Ensemble toured Europe and continued to expand its compositional, improvisational, and theatrical jazz fundamentals, captured abundantly on Nice Guys. Broken up into six pieces, two each from Roscoe Mitchell and Joseph Jarman and one each from Lester Bowie and Don Moye, the album reveals how the AEC managed to turn individual compositions into a fully realized, surprisingly accessible, avant garde group collective. Nice Guys maintains its edge while incorporating reggae, New Orleans marches, and a wide use of space complemented by "little instruments" (car horn, whistles, etc.). The strongest portion of the disc is the finale "Dreaming of the Master," dedicated to Miles Davis and sounding not unlike Davis' mid-'60s quintet -- while maintaining the AEC edge. ---Al Campbell, Rovi

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1.    Coming soon (Bowie)
2.    African woman (Ngubone)
3.    Fundamental destiny (Jarman)
4.    Fresh start (Mitchell)
5.    Khauleza (Amabutho Male Chorus)
6.    The bottom line (Art Ensemble of Chicago)
7.    Black man (Amabutho Male Chorus)

Musicians:
Lester Bowie - trumpet, flugelhorn, perc
Joseph Jarman - sop, alto, ten, bar sax, fl, synth, perc
Roscoe Mitchell - sop, alto, ten, bass saxfl, piccolo, perc
Malachi Favors Maghostut - bass, belafon, perc
Famoudou Don Moye - sun perc, dr, congas, bongos, bass pan drums, 
chimes, bells, triangles, gongs, whistels, belafon
Amabutho Male Chorus:
Elliot Ngubane special guest, lead vc, perc, tast 
Joe Leguabe vc, perc 
Zacheuus Nyoni vc 
Welcome "Max" Bhe Bhe vc
Kay Ngwazene vc.

This recording is the first of several collaborative projects the Art Ensemble of Chicago recorded for DIW in the early '90s and is perhaps the most successful. Here they share the stage with the fine South African vocal ensemble the Amabutho Male Chorus led by Elliot Ngubane. The two groups perform as a unit most successfully on "African Woman" and "Black Man," where the Art Ensemble, noted for its wide range of stylistic capabilities, sounds perfectly at home with the vocal ensemble, providing backing very much in the manner of a South African "Township Jazz" band, sometimes injecting a reggae-like feel into the proceedings.

Even so, the two strongest pieces on the record are achieved by each group performing on its own. "Khauleza," by the Amabutho Male Chorus, is an extraordinarily rich, propulsive traditional song; the deep harmonies achieved by the singers are breathtaking. This is almost mirrored by the following collective improvisation by the Art Ensemble, "The Bottom Line," a wonderfully dark and brooding exploration of the lower depths of this group's sound.

This is a very enjoyable recording, possibly the last all-around excellent Art Ensemble release before the group's retrenching after the departure of Joseph Jarman and the untimely death of Lester Bowie. --- Brian Olewnick, Rovi

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1. Hail We Now Sing Joy 
2. It's the Sign of the Times 
3. Tech Ritter and the Megabytes 
4. Wind and Drum 
5. The Meeting 
6. Amin Bidness 
7. The Train To Io

Musicians:
    Joseph Jarman — flute, percussion, gong, saxophone (alto, soprano, tenor), bells
    Malachi Favors Maghostus — bass, percussion
    Roscoe Mitchell — flute, piccolo, saxophone (alto, bass, soprano. tenor)
    Don Moye — bongos, conga, drums

We speak of the Art Ensemble of Chicago circa 2003 as being in a post-Lester Bowie era. The group's mighty founder and trumpeter passed away in 1999. Meanwhile, this recording and the trio session Tribute To Lester (ECM 2003) have been the only AEC recordings made in this new era.

But you may remember that the AEC was once distinguished as pre- and post-Joseph Jarman when he left the band in 1993. His return here doesn’t substitute for Bowie’s absence, it merely aims the music in different directions.

Jarman’s Buddhist studies of the past ten years are readily apparent from the opening track, a vocal praise of his Dharma path and quest for enlightenment. The boppish tune exemplifies AEC’s diverse sources for inspiration and content. The second track goes on to a 19-minute mostly free piece with each member playing lengthy percussive solos that come together in a group contemplative resolution of sound.

The ability to match foot-tapping compositions, like their nod to hip-hop on “Tech Ritter and the Megabytes” and open meditations on “Wind and Drum” with its bells and flutes, exemplifies the wide-ranging genius of this working ensemble. What AEC displays after all these years is a thorough knowledge of improvisation based both on noise and silence.

The title track, by Roscoe Mitchell, exorcises the demons of both sound and pulse with Jarman and Mitchell blowing over powerful waves of energy summoned by Moye and Favors. They then shift into their infamous "plays with toys" on “Amin Bidness” when the bells, recorders and hand drumming begins. Where these sounds usually come off best in live encounters with AEC, the excellent recording here separates players and leaves the listener in a dreamy elated state. ---Mark Corroto, allaboutjazz.com

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1. Prayer For Jimbo Kwesi 
2. Funky AECO 
3. Walking In The Moonlight 
4. The Bell Piece 
5. Zero 
6. Third Decade

Musicians:
Lester Bowie - trumpet,fluegelhorn,bass drum,cymbal rack
Malachi Favors Maghostut - string bass,electric bass,percussion
Joseph Jarman - alto,tenor & bass saxes,clarinets,percussion,synthesizer
Roscoe Mitchell - saxophones,clarinets,flute,percussion
Famoudou Don Moye - drums,percussion

For the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Third Decade marked both the end of their relationship with the ECM label and the beginning of a more streamlined stretch of music making. The band would cut back on their once predominant, free-form explorations to make room for more bebop and crossover material, like "Funky AECO" and the Caribbean-tinged bop tune "Zero," straightforward genre pieces the band still undermine with playful "found sounds" (bike horns, sirens, chimes, etc.). Along these more traditional lines, the lovely, '20s-style jazz ballad "Walking in the Moonlight" is also included. The group stretches out on more open-ended pieces like Joseph Jarmen's dirge-like opener "Prayer for Jimbo Kwesi" and Mitchell's magisterial number "The Bell Piece," but even here the group's traditionally frenetic playing is kept in check. This is not necessarily bad, considering the Art Ensemble's consistently top-notch and provocative solo work, straight-ahead or otherwise. The band does end the album, though, with the decidedly frenetic and free "Third Decade," as if to say they are equally adept at a variety of styles and so should not be restricted to only one. The point is well taken with this varied yet cogent set. ---Stephen Cook, Rovi

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