Muhal Richard Abrams: Levels and Degrees of Light

The music coming out of Chicago's Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) from the mid-1960s and onward was nothing short of spectacular.  While the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Anthony Braxton and Henry Threadgill might be some of the more recognizable names of those who emerged from the AACM's big tent of creativity, no one was more vital to the Association's existence and success than co-founder and pianist/composer Muhal Richard Abrams (1930-2017.)

The Chicago native had many creative interests, including the visual arts, while his musical imagination embraced not just jazz, but modern classical, including electronic music, but he was largely self-taught, finding traditional academic study not fulfilling enough.  In June and December 1967, not long after the establishment of the AACM, Abrams recorded his first album, Levels and Degrees of Light, released on the local independent Delmark label, which issued landmarks from by future Art Ensemble members Joseph Jarman and Roscoe Mitchell.

In the liners, Abrams was hesitant to explain the music, offering only that "I think the musicians involved tried to join their thoughts to mine" and the collaboration was "a kind of prayer" in which the session was "the capturing of a moment in that constant prayer."  He then obliquely stated that "what is here is what we are and what we hope to be."  To this listener, the title seems to indicate the varying shades of sound on the recording, involving quiet, contemplative passages, those building up to an incredible level of intensity, the voices of classically-trained singer Penelope Taylor and poet David Moore, and the timbres from the instrumentation.

This includes the leader on clarinet and piano; Braxton's alto; the tenor of Maurice McIntyre; Leroy Jenkins on violin; Gordon Emanuel's vibes; Charles Clark and Leonard Jones on bass; and drummer Thurman Barker.  It does sound as if everyone was totally in tune with Abrams' compositions and aesthetics.  "The Bird Song" is an astounding piece, evoking a sort of environmental calmness at the outset, including bird-like sounds, but including a stunning mass of roaring, rumbling and coruscating ensemble work towards its end.  The title track and "My Thoughts Are My Future—Now and Forever" are, however, also very compelling and reflective of the composer's remarkable range of ideas.

Muhal Richard Abrams was not nearly recorded enough, compared to the musicians and groups mentioned above, but he is a pivotal figure in the development of jazz and Black creative music for roughly a half century and future posts will highlight more of this master's work.

Horace Tapscott and the Pan-Afrikan Peoples Arkestra: Flight 17

The great Horace Tapscott, as mentioned before, was the act in the courtyard of the now-leveled sections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art when I went with a friend to the free concert and was astounded by his amazing musicianship and that of his band, which included the volcanic and lyrical saxophonist Michael Session and bassist Roberto Miranda.  Subsequent performances were heard at the original Catalina Bar and Grill location, as well, but, then, in 1999, this titanic figure died, vastly underappreciated in so many ways.

This included his commitment to community and the foregoing of what might have been a successful national and international career as Tapscott focused on his Union of God's Musicians and Artists Ascension organization and the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra and promoting Black music through local talent, including free lessons for children and performing regularly at South-Central Los Angeles churches.

Tapscott's dedication to his cause meant that he was not recorded all that often, but the Nimbus West label was established by fan Tom Albach specifically to document the pianist-composer's work, including some stunning solo piano recordings.  This album is an "Ark" work recorded at the Immanuel United Church of Christ (now a Latino Pentecostal house of worship) and features Session, Miranda and many talented musicians creating a wonderful ensemble sound performing works by the teenage Herbert Baker, who died at just 17 years of age, Miranda, bandleader and multi-instrumentalist Jesse Sharps, and saxophonist Sabia Matteen, as well as a medley of pieces by John Coltrane.

Notes from the legendary music educator Dr. Samuel R. Browne, who taught so many great musicians at Jefferson High School, remarks that "the talent displayed in this album is the result of a commitment made by Horace Tapscott many years ago 'to pass it on,'" in terms of working to give young musicians opportunities for developing their talent and, hopefully, improving their financial situation.  Tapscott is also quoted as remarking, that the U.G.M.A.A., formed in 1961, "contributes quality works of art that reflect the natural rays of creativity, the essence of our existence."  

We are fortunate to have these recordings as reminders of those rays reverberating among us today decades after their production and as Tapscott's enduring legacy.