Jackson in Your House/Message to Our Folks

Jackson in Your House/Message to Our Folks Artist: The Art Ensemble of Chicago
Label: Varese Sarabande
Category: Music



Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Format: Original recording remastered
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1


UPC: 030206114621
EAN: 0030206114621
ASIN: B00005O54I


Release Date: 2001-09-18

Related Categories:

Avant Garde & Free Jazz Avant Garde & Free Jazz
Related | Jazz | Styles | Music
General General
Related | Jazz | Styles | Music
General General
Related | Pop | Styles | Music

Listmania:

  1. Return of the Freaks
  2. The state of the Art...Ensemble of Chicago
  3. My Music and what I like, Pt. 1

Tracks:

  1. A Jackson In Your House
  2. Get In Line
  3. The Waltz
  4. Ericka
  5. Song For Charles
  6. Old Time Religion
  7. Dexterity
  8. Rock Out
  9. A Brain For The Seine

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Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars A Beautiful Reissue.......2004-07-12

This CD reissue on Fuel 2000 contains two of the earliest recordings available by the legendary Art Ensemble of Chicago, after they ditched their home state of Illinois (and the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians scene) in favour of the more liberal audiences of a post-'68 uprising Paris. All five tracks from their debut LP "A Jackson in Your House" from 1969 are included, as are all four tracks from their "Message to Our Folks" LP recorded later that year. The transfer, artwork, and liner notes are immaculate (fitting the quality of the Art Ensemble's music). These recordings provide several epiphanies in their own right, but nonetheless in comparison with classic period albums like "Fanfare for the Warriors" and "Bap-Tizum", there are certain aspects of these records (inferior recording quality, slightly faulted production) that makes it better to think of them as seminal documentation of the group's early sound before they hit their peak, rather than as stand alone records.

The childlike incantations of Lester Bowie open the title track of "A Jackson in Your House", leading into some of the most playful and fun music any avant-jazz band have ever recorded (dare I say even danceable). Next along is "Get In Line", which oscillates between a military parade ground assembly, chaotic bursts of saxophone and trumpet noise, and great black theatre. After two shorter tracks "The Waltz" (which is uhhh... a waltz), and a Joseph Jarman poem "Erica" (which is reminiscent of "Odwalla" off "Fanfare for the Warriors") it moves into the meat of the record, the eighteen minute "Song for Charles", which incorporates all the classic hallmarks of the AEC, free improvisation, counterpoint melody, and the "little instruments" aesthetic, if not little instruments themselves.

"Message to Our Folks" pairs off nicely in arrangement with "A Jackson in Your House". A brilliant rendition of the traditional gospel tune "Old Time Religion" is my highlight of the album, opening as the first track, complete with very full bass and throaty call and response church chorus vocals sung integrated into a single vocal part. A rather standard version of Charlie Parkers "Dexterity" and a free instrumental "Rock Out" follow, to be completed by the 21 minute "A Brain for the Seine", which pairs of nicely as a counterfoil to "Song for Charles".

This is an amazing record, an above average record by one of the most creative, original, and challenging bands of all time. However this is your first encounter with the Art Ensemble, it's probably best to skip this and head straight for "Fanfare for the Warriors", and move onto this one later. Kudos to Fuel 2000 for reissuing this, including one of the greatest album covers of all time.

4 out of 5 stars Been quite a while since the previous review.......2004-07-10

I thought folks might like to know I just received "Jackson In Your House/Message To Our Folks" from Amazon today. Based on my copy, it looks like Fuel 2000 fixed the swap problem. Oh yeah, and the recording's worth every cent, too.

5 out of 5 stars Correct CD available from the label.......2001-10-18

Fuel 2000 Records has just released this CD and Don Cherry's "Mu First Part/ Mu Second Part" but the manufacturing plant mixed up the two titles and switched the music. Cherry's music inadvertently appears on this disc and vise versa. The defective CDs have black lettering on white background, whereas correct discs have been made with light blue background instead of white. Consumers wishing to exchange can send their bad disc(s) to Jazz CD, Fuel 2000 Records, 6607 Sunset Blvd., 2nd Floor, Hollywood, CA 90028

3 out of 5 stars Beware - This is not the CD you think it is!.......2001-10-14

This CD does not contain the original material from either "A Jackson in Your House" or "Message to Our Folks". I recorded these records some 20 years ago and had hoped to replace my cassette with the CD. The music on the CD is not even by the Art Ensemble. Here are examples. 1)The real tune called Jackson contains some singing, including someone singing "there's a Jackson in your house", yet the Cd version has none of this. 2)The real version of Get in Line includes someone(probably Favors) saying "Get in Line", yet the CD version doesn't have this. 3)The real version of Old Time Religion is a well known traditionial tune that is nowhere to be found on the CD. So I am quite sure that my cassette is the real thing and the CD is who knows what.

New comments on 11/1/01: Thanks to one of the other reviewers, you now have the info you need to get the correct version of this CD. Buying this is well worth it for those looking to bulk up on Art Ensemble CD's, but I would not call it one of their best.

5 out of 5 stars artifact.......2001-09-22

This is the first recording that the ensemble produced in their expatriate phase- it cannot strictly be evaluated in terms of quality- it represents something significant in the evolution of this seminal group's sensibility. You may find yourself listening over and over to the late great lester bowie showing his humor in the absolutely wonderful "jackson in your house" which is a distillation of the history of jazz and a wonderful affirmation of play and fun, something that when this was recorded, in the late sixties, was in short supply. I have no idea what is on the cd in terms of additional tracks, I am writing based on my appreciation for the original release; the art ensemble recorded three albumns on actuel, as well as participating in a number of other sessions; the original release was quite short in playing time, but unforgettable.

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