A power stronger than itself : the AACM and American experimental music / George E. Lewis.
2008
ML3508.8.C5 L48 2008 (Mapit)
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Details
Title
A power stronger than itself : the AACM and American experimental music / George E. Lewis.
Author
Lewis, George, 1952-
ISBN
9780226476957 (alk. paper)
0226476952 (alk. paper)
0226476952 (alk. paper)
Publication Details
Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2008.
Language
English
Description
xlviii, 676 p., [44] p. of plates : ill. (some col.), music ; 24 cm.
Call Number
ML3508.8.C5 L48 2008
Dewey Decimal Classification
781.6506/077311
Summary
"Founded in 1965 and still active today, the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) is an American institution with an international reputation. From its working-class roots on the South Side of Chicago, the AACM went on to forge an extensive legacy of cultural and social experimentation, crossing both musical and racial boundaries. The success of individual members and ensembles such as Muhal Richard Abrams, the Art Ensemble of Chicago, and Anthony Braxton has been matched by the enormous influence of the collective itself in inspiring a generation of musical experimentalists. George E. Lewis, who joined the collective as a teenager in 1971, establishes the full importance and vitality of the AACM with this communal history, written with a symphonic sweep that draws on a cross-generational chorus of voices and a rich collection of rare images. Faced with shrinking economic opportunities in Chicago and a segregated music industry, the original members of the AACM found inspiration in the civil rights movement's call for change through self-determination and collective action. These musicians pooled their individual strengths in a new organization powerfully committed to a forward-thinking approach to musical creation and performance. Evolving a range of experimental methods, from invented instruments and unusual musical scores to improvisation and the early use of computers, the AACM challenged the borders separating classical music and jazz. Moving from Chicago to New York to Paris, and from founding member Steve McCall's kitchen table to Carnegie Hall, A Power Stronger Than Itself uncovers a vibrant, multicultural universe and brings to light a major piece of the history of avant-garde music and art."--Publisher's description.
Note
"Founded in 1965 and still active today, the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) is an American institution with an international reputation. From its working-class roots on the South Side of Chicago, the AACM went on to forge an extensive legacy of cultural and social experimentation, crossing both musical and racial boundaries. The success of individual members and ensembles such as Muhal Richard Abrams, the Art Ensemble of Chicago, and Anthony Braxton has been matched by the enormous influence of the collective itself in inspiring a generation of musical experimentalists. George E. Lewis, who joined the collective as a teenager in 1971, establishes the full importance and vitality of the AACM with this communal history, written with a symphonic sweep that draws on a cross-generational chorus of voices and a rich collection of rare images. Faced with shrinking economic opportunities in Chicago and a segregated music industry, the original members of the AACM found inspiration in the civil rights movement's call for change through self-determination and collective action. These musicians pooled their individual strengths in a new organization powerfully committed to a forward-thinking approach to musical creation and performance. Evolving a range of experimental methods, from invented instruments and unusual musical scores to improvisation and the early use of computers, the AACM challenged the borders separating classical music and jazz. Moving from Chicago to New York to Paris, and from founding member Steve McCall's kitchen table to Carnegie Hall, A Power Stronger Than Itself uncovers a vibrant, multicultural universe and brings to light a major piece of the history of avant-garde music and art."--Publisher's description.
Bibliography, etc. Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 601-635), discography (p. 519-523), and index.
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Table of Contents
Foundations and prehistory
New music, New York
The development of the experimental band
Founding the collective
First fruits
The AACM takes off
Americans in Paris
The AACM's next wave
The AACM in New York
The new regime in Chicago
Into the third decade
Transition and reflections.
New music, New York
The development of the experimental band
Founding the collective
First fruits
The AACM takes off
Americans in Paris
The AACM's next wave
The AACM in New York
The new regime in Chicago
Into the third decade
Transition and reflections.