The Art Ensemble of Chicago released their 50th anniversary celebratory album We Are On The Edge this past April via Pi Recordings. On July 26th Erased Tapes will bring this monumental release to vinyl. Available as a 12-track 2xLP, look for We Are On The Edge to also come out as a 4×12″ set that includes tracks recorded live at Edgefest–the annual experimental jazz and music festival in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The Art Ensemble of Chicago has stood at the forefront of improvised experimental music since their inception in 1969. Formed out of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), the collective sought to represent the full spectrum of the African Diaspora through an expanded take on the possibilities of jazz music. Combining visual stage shows that included costuming, face painting, and the breaking of the fourth wall between performer and spectator, the group also pushed their sound into new territory by encouraging a multi-instrumental approach that often included the use of non-traditional instruments in their performances.
We Are On The Edge features the Art Ensemble of Chicago’s two remaining active members: saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell and percussionist Famoudou Don Moye. In addition, a host of guest musicians also appear including Mitchell’s long standing colleagues, the trumpeters Fred Berry and Hugh Ragin, bassist Jaribu Shahid, cellist Tomeka Reid, flutist Nicole Mitchell, as well as the poet/musician Moor Mother. We Are On The Edge collects together meticulously recorded studio sessions from the group that includes reworked songs from the collective’s 50 year history, as well as new recordings.
Below, you can listen to effort’s title song, which features searing, spoken word vocals from Moor Mother. Trumpet and strings trade opening interludes on this cinematic cut, before combining to herald the vocalist’s dramatic entrance. Moor Mother’s text and performance allow the striking phrase, “we are on the edge” to cut in multiple directions. Part exhortation, part optimistic declaration, and part boast, it also serves as a dire warning!
