Timeless Innovators

Though honorary AACM member Sun Ra claimed to have been born on the planet Saturn, you don't have to be that far out to dig the music of the Association for Advancement of Creative Musicians.

Formed in 1965 by jazz artists who wanted to do more than play conventional and commercial music, the Association for Advancement of Creative Musicians spawned numerous innovators in its Chicago incubator.

Over a span of more than forty years, the association nurtured the artistic growth of not only singular artists but whole groups – most notably the world-renowned Art Ensemble of Chicago. The ensemble, like many of its AACM coreligionists, brought to the jazz sound a mixture of rampant improvisation, unorthodox instruments and theatrical antics.

Related Links

Watch AACM member Malachi Thompson perform with his Freebop Band during Arts Across Illinois: CenterStage in 2001.

Watch AACM member and former president Ernest Dawkins and his New Horizons Ensemble play on Arts Across Illinois: CenterStage in 2002.

Watch AACM's Nicole Mitchell perform with the Black Earth Ensemble at Arts Across Illinois: CenterStage in 2003.

Find out where AACM members are playing concerts near you.

Visit the PBS site dedicated to jazz and watch Ken Burns' sprawling documentary on the subject.