"One for the Road:" Art Ensemble of Chicago

By Chuck Sudo in Arts & Entertainment on Dec 27, 2010 10:00PM

Without a doubt the most successful group to come from the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians was the Art Ensemble of Chicago. The quintet's classic lineup — Roscoe Mitchell, Joseph Jarman, Lester Bowie, Malachi Favors Maghostut and Famadou Don Moye — was a powerful musical force with a unique stage presence unseen in free jazz musicians. As recently as 2006, the AEC was still a concert draw, even after the deaths of Bowie in 1999 and Favors in 2004.

Here's one of the Art Ensemble's best-known tracks, featuring the vocals of Bowie's then-wife, soul singer Fontella Bass.