AACM....

[mkush001]

Hey LouieB, next spring I'll be taking a class on contemporary improvisation at UC Berkeley taught by Myra Melford (who you're probably familiar with, she's played with Threadgill, Jarman, Jenkins, and a lot of the AACM cats over the years); she also teaches a performance workshop specifically on the music of the AACM which sounds pretty amazing. I don't know how many other schools have specific courses on the music of the AACM, so I thought I would brag a bit. Go Bears!

 

I know that until a few years ago George Lewis himself taught at UC San Diego before moving to Columbia, so they can brag too.

[LouieB]

Hey LouieB, next spring I'll be taking a class on contemporary improvisation at UC Berkeley taught by Myra Melford (who you're probably familiar with, she's played with Threadgill, Jarman, Jenkins, and a lot of the AACM cats over the years); she also teaches a performance workshop specifically on the music of the AACM which sounds pretty amazing. I don't know how many other schools have specific courses on the music of the AACM, so I thought I would brag a bit. Go Bears!

 

I know that until a few years ago George Lewis himself taught at UC San Diego before moving to Columbia, so they can brag too.

That is very very cool. Actually I don't k now who she is (I can hardly know everything). I would imagine not too many schools cover the AACM. but I would bet it is very few. Good luck. Check out this book though.

 

I may have told this story but one night Carla Bley brought her band to Amazingrace in Evanston. There were many New York musicians with her and Rosewell Rudd was supposed to be there on Trombone. Unfortunately he couldn't make it and George Lewis sat in, in his place. We were disappointed because Rudd was (is) a very big name in NY avant circles. But as it turned out George blew everyone out of the place. It was a crazy night and the local kid (he was pretty young then) did us proud.

 

LouieB

[LouieB]

I pretty much finished this book last night (I have a few pages left to read, so not totally finished) and I have to say I am sad that I am finishing it and had moments of disappointment while reading it. This is a pretty good book, with many details based on Lewis' exaustive interviews with all the major AACM figures and many of the minor ones as well. For that reason alone this is an important book and an important piece of scholarship. There are points where he digresses into discussions of the conflicts between the Chicago and NY factions and also somewhat theoretical discussions on the differences between AACM methodologies and European improvisational methodologies which is interesting but not quite on point. There are a few factual errors (Orr High School is not on the far south side of Chicago) and somehow the the flow is broken up too much by personal stories that aren't spot on. I guess at a point I realized that this is perhaps the first important book about the AACM and one which will undoubtedly be referenced in any future scholarship, but it is not thebook about the AACM. Near the end he relates stories about the funerals of some of the early members including Malachi Favors, which are truely heartfelt and sad and bring a nice closure on things; though clearly the story of the AACM is not over since many of the figures, both young and old are still active in both Chicago and New York, as well as other locations.

 

Having said that I would strongly recommend it to anyone interested in the AACM, improvisational music, or the music scene in Chicago. Just about every major musical figure associated with jazz and improv music in Chicago gets a mention and the stories that are told are facinating in and of themselves. You may find yourself glossing over the digressions and theoretical material, but the rest is worth the time, as is the list of recordings and the extensive bibliography in the back. George Lewis' accomplishment is incredible. The pictures are interesting too.

 

LouieB