Collection: The Art Ensemble of Chicago

The Art Ensemble of Chicago emerged from the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) in the late 1960s, becoming one of the most influential avant-garde jazz collectives of the twentieth century. Founded in Chicago in 1965 by Muhal Richard Abrams, the AACM provided a home for saxophonists Roscoe Mitchell and Joseph Jarman and bassist Malachi Favors, who first recorded together as the Roscoe Mitchell Sextet on 1966's Sound for Delmark. Trumpeter Lester Bowie joined from St. Louis's Black Artists' Group, and by 1969 the quartet relocated to Paris, where they adopted the Art Ensemble of Chicago name and recorded 15 albums before returning to the United States in 1971. Drummer Don Moye joined in 1970, cementing the classic five-piece lineup that would remain consistent for decades.

Operating under the motto "Great Black Music: Ancient to the Future", the Art Ensemble fused traditional jazz, African music, modern classical composition, blues, rock, and reggae whilst embracing multi-instrumentalism and theatrical performance. They famously employed "little instruments" including bicycle horns, bells, kazoos, and found objects alongside traditional instruments, and performed in costumes and face paint, making their concerts both aural and visual spectacles. Signed to Atlantic Records in 1971, they formed their own AECO label in 1978 before joining ECM, which widened their audience internationally. Joseph Jarman retired in 1993 to open a Buddhist dojo and died in 2019. The group continues with Roscoe Mitchell and Don Moye leading, maintaining their legacy as pioneers who moved jazz beyond genre boundaries.