Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians

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Jack DeJohnette (l.) And Roscoe Mitchell at the AACM anniversary (2015 in Frankfurt a. M.)

The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) is a musicians' association in the field of free jazz that was founded in Chicago on May 9, 1965 .

history

The AACM developed from a rehearsal tape that was initiated in 1962 by Muhal Richard Abrams . Informal was the name of the Experimental Band (experimental group), which had not yet performed, but already played to compositions by Abrams, Phil Cohran , Jack DeJohnette , Joseph Jarman , Roscoe Mitchell , Troy Robinson, Maurice McIntyre and others. Many of the pieces used composition techniques from contemporary classical music: seriality , polytonality and chromaticism . First they rehearsed in a restaurant on the South Side, but later they moved to the Abraham Lincoln Center, one of the oldest buildings in Chicago. On the one hand, the musicians were inspired by a high level of creativity, on the other hand they lacked opportunities to perform. Abrams, Christian, Cohran and McCall founded an association for jazz musicians, which should create performance opportunities for musicians of free jazz and promote social projects in Chicago. In May 1965, the State of Illinois recognized the AACM as a non-profit organization.

Today the AACM is publicly funded and is active in New York City in addition to Chicago . The Art Ensemble of Chicago in particular appears there as a core formation. The Ethnic Heritage Ensemble , Trio Air and the Creative Construction Company are also important ambassadors for the group. Current AACM members include Anthony Braxton , Joseph Jarman , Chico Freeman and George Lewis . An important deceased member is Lester Bowie, alongside Steve McCall and Leroy Jenkins .

In addition to organizing concerts, the AACM is also involved in local politics by offering free practice courses for urban youth. The AACM School of Music teaches on all instruments and in all vocal subjects ; it also offers courses in music theory. The AACM has therefore also received support from the MacArthur Foundation . The first female AACM president is Nicole Mitchell .

Close relationships exist with an influential sister organization, the Black Artists' Group (BAG) from St. Louis , Missouri, and Columbia College Chicago . The AACM women's band Samana played on Hillary Clinton's birthday in 1997 .

The motto of the association is: "Great Black Music, Ancient to the Future." (Excellent black music, from ancient times to the future.)

Members of the AACM

literature

  • Martin Kunzler : Jazz Lexicon. Volume 1: A – L (= rororo-Sachbuch. Vol. 16512). 2nd Edition. Rowohlt, Reinbek near Hamburg 2004, ISBN 3-499-16512-0 .
  • George E. Lewis: A Power Stronger Than Itself - The AACM and American Experimental Music. The University of Chicago Press, 2010.

Web links