Art Ensemble of Chicago

Amen! Looking for a trip through the entire history of black music? Well look no further. There was a lot of this sort of thing around in the 1960s and 70s courtesy of free jazzers like Archie Shepp and the Art Ensemble. some of these artists were seen as marginal by the jazz mainstream, but albums like this show that great free jazz was as in thrall to tradition as any bopper. Look at the name of the album, for a start - Message to our Folks implies an attempt to express gratitude for musical forebears. What's more, the album was subtitled "great black music". And there certainly is a variety of music here

PERSONNEL:

• Lester Bowie - trumpet, flugelhorn
• Roscoe Mitchell - clarinet, alto sax
• Joseph Jarman - clarinet, soprano sax, oboe
• Malachi Favors - banjo, bass, drums

Recorded August 12, 1969, Studio Saravah, Paris

TRACKS:

• SIDE A
• A1. Old Time Religion
• A2. Dexterity
• A3. Rock Out

• SIDE B
• B1. A Brain For The Seine