Art Ensemble of Chicago
Fanfare For The Warriors

It is indeed strange that many of the stories that fascinate the most begin with compelling déjà-vus.

Take this one, for example.

Who knows or even just remembers a musical ensemble called Art Ensemble Of Chicago? Not many, perhaps. Yet, it is quite impressive to know that this congregation of musicians, mainly devotees of a form of cosmic-free jazz hallucinatory, boasts nearly forty years of prestigious career, with several albums both live and studio, and has collected participations in the quirkiest festivals alongside names like Pink Floyd, Soft Machine, Caravan, Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart, Fairport Convention, just to name a few, leaving an indelible mark on the international artistic scene.

The context that concerns us more closely in this case is the late '60s, the period of great social and cultural upheaval, the dense network of exchanges between America and Europe, and the significant innovations that blended jazz with other expressive currents, branching the music's audience into further tributaries. A revolution in which the explosive ensemble from Chicago actively participated.

Following the teachings of their spiritual fathers (how can one not mention, for example, John Coltrane and Sun Ra), the A.E.O.C. transcended the paths traced by afrobeat music, granting it, if possible, even more, foreign-derived properties. They anticipated a certain way of seeing and interpreting the canons of free jazz, giving it an unparalleled touch of folklore, and this thanks especially to the incredible impact of their live acts, performances marked by iconoclastic and pyrotechnic scenic tensions. This is how funk rhythms and classic jazz harmonizations are swept by the out-tempo wave of winds and percussive effects. This is how placid meeting points for enthusiasts become cathartic tribal rites.

"Fanfare For The Warriors" (1974), the third album after "People In Sorrow" and "Les Stances A Sophie" signed under their name, is a small chest containing contrapuntal compositions, which do not depersonalize such a dazzling creed, based on the dynamic balance between improvisation and improbable collages of sounds and colors. The scores are incredibly extravagant, and performed in a way that highlights the free interpretation of individual musicians. Rare exceptions to this discourse are for example "The Key", and (though not entirely) "Barnyard Scuffel Shuffel"; the first with a quite unsober cadence (emphasized by the singing), while the second has a heart of fiery rhythm 'n' blues that tempers the shock fibrillations, dominant in the three compositions "Illistrum", "Nonaah", and "Fanfare For The Warriors". Delightful testimonies of a fluid eclecticism are evident in "Tnoona", not lacking in strong pathos of psychedelic reminiscences, and "What's To Say", a harlequin aspect of a bizarre samba, built on variations, in parallel fugues, of the instruments.

"Fanfare For The Warriors" manages to offer, in its way, a concrete snapshot made of dreams and stylistic evolutions, of discoveries matured and repeated without neglecting a key element in individual growth: one's past, one's roots. The credits on the back of the album cover confirm the full participation of the historic lineup, consisting of Lester Bowie (Trumpet & Fluegelhorn), Roscoe Mitchell (Alto sax, Tenor sax & Piccolo), Joseph Jarman (Alto sax, Tenor sax, & Flute), Malachi Favors (Bass), Don Moye (percussion), and a special guest on piano, Muhal Richard Abrams. The production is by Michael Cuscuna.

What can be said, in the end, when faced with history?

They are important sensations.