The Meeting

Art Ensemble of Chicago

Downbeat

When the Art Ensemble of Chicago had been whittled down to a trio with the death of trumpeter Lester Bowie and the departure of saxophonist Joseph Jarman, it seemedÊ the band's relevant years might be over. Now that Jarman's back in the fold, the group has discovered a new sense of purpose.

One signature element of the band's sound has been Roscoe Mitchell's exploration of space, coupled with the innovation (credited to Malachi Favors) of so-called little instruments-tabletop toys, tuned and untuned percussion objects, flutes-that expanded the idea of multi-instrumentalism from mere "doubling" to a virtually infinite textural realm. The band became colorists more than virtuosi, and their more expansive sets obtained a center of gravity by juxtaposing densities and sonorities, creating sounds in a vast field rather than as a stream.

On The Meeting, the Art Ensemble returns to that field, creating lengthy tracks with chimes, gongs, bells and cymbals, most of them finding a place for Jarman's flute, too. On "It's The Sign Of The Times," feedback walkie-talkies and crinkling paper also dot the landscape, and toward the middle there's a part for multiple saxes. ÊThe Meeting is not exclusively made up of such sparse textures. On "Hail We Now Sing Joy," Jarman warbles in the tradition of the AEC classic "A Jackson In Your House," leading into a biting solo from Mitchell. A simple theme on the title track makes way for a sustained energy blast focused on twining saxophones, and there's a superbad funk cut, "Tech Ritter And The Megabytes," distorted and distended by Favors' swagger and the AEC horny horns.