The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) celebrated its 60th anniversary and late founder Dr. Richard Muhal Abrams with a series of performances and discussions at Roulette Intermedium in Brooklyn on Nov. 14. The evening featured appearances by monumental figures in the realm of avant-garde jazz including Adegoke Steve Colson, Chico Freeman, and 85-year-old Roscoe Mitchell who also founded the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Each player reflected on the impact that the AACM had on their lives and careers before taking to the stage to explore the infinite possibilities of sound that are made available when in the hands of these jazz masters. The AACM was formed in 1965 by Dr. Richard Muhal Abrams. “The AACM is significantly unique in that it has nurtured and brought to fruition so many accomplished composers and performers,” says the description on the Roulette page. “The organization’s artists have developed a body of work that has achieved lasting significance across borders of music genres and geography to play a critical role in the ever-evolving process of music creation and its vital influence throughout the world.”
The evening opened with a discussion moderated by AACM trombonist George Lewis, who was joined in conversation by vocalist Iqua Colson, pianist Steve Adegoke Colson, percussionist Thurman Barker, pianist Amine Claudine Myers, saxophonist Chico Freeman, and Roscoe Mitchell, who was one of the first members to join the AACM. Each panelist took a moment to describe what the organization and founder Dr. Richard Muhal Abrams meant to them. “I was drawn to Muhal,” Barker told the audience. “Muhal was like a magnet and wanted a piece of him.” The players each echoed a similar sentiment, expressing how Abrams opened up new and exciting creative possibilities for them as young musicians. “There’s more to being a musician you have to be an arrange you have to be a composer, and you have to make a statement about where we are,” Barker said, as he recounted lessons from working with Abrams. Adegoke Steve Colson described how he did grunt work early on to get in AACM, making posters, setting up chairs and the taking on stage duties ahead of performances. “This is telling me that the arts need to be independent,” Colson stated. He recalled how clubs in Chicago in the 1960s only wanted to hear music that sounded like “Bird and Diz,” Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. “We like that music, we appreciated that music,” recalled Colson, but the AACM was determined to do something of their own. Roscoe Mitchell, who also had his paintings on display, reminisced about the way Abrams opened him up to art — taking him to museums and drawing sketches “I found myself in a completely new environment,” he remembered, and for the first time he felt welcome into a space where he was free to be himself.
After the discussion Abrams daughter, the master of ceremonies for the evening, took to the stage. “I grew up watching these folks,” she told the audience. “They are tremendous, aren’t they?” The sounds that emanated from the Roscoe Mitchell’s solo set that utilized seldom used bass and sopranino saxophones, Chico Freeman’s quartet who did a Camel-walking inspired tune in 5/4, and Myers’ group who paid tribute to the late Jack DeJohnette, can never be replicated again — they provided an experience unique to the individuals in the room, united by the exploration and curiosity present through the philosophies of organizations like the AACM. You can stay up to date with the AACM at aacm-newyork.com, and learn more about Roulette programming at roulette.org.