At 50 years, The Art Ensemble is probably the longest-running aggregation in jazz. Not content to rest on their laurels – it would have been far easier and more commercially-minded to assemble another quintet to attempt to create some caricature of the original band – Mitchell and Moye have recruited a diverse group of fifteen highly-individual talents who bring their own approaches to the Art Ensemble aesthetic. They range from trumpeters Fred Berry and Hugh Ragin, who have performed with Mitchell for over five and four decades, respectively, to bassist Jaribu Shahid, for about as long, to singer Rodolfo Cordova-Lebron, who is a current student of Mitchell’s at Mills College. For Moye, his relationships with percussionist Enoch Williamson and Titos Sompa date back to the late 60s/early 70s. Now residing in Marseilles, France, Moye regularly performs with the Senegalese Dudù Kouaté, a master of the Wolof griot tradition. With clear intent towards representation, Mitchell and Moye’s engagement of musicians such as Nicole Mitchell, Tomeka Reid, Camae Ayewa aka Moor Mother, Christina Wheeler, Silvia Bolognesi and Jean Cook – women who are without peer as improvisers and performers – help bring a whole new perspective to the music.

The group converged in Ann Arbor in October 16-20, 2018 for five days of rehearsals and recording, all culminating in their headlining performance. The sheer breadth of the ensemble’s collective expression is staggering, ranging from Mitchell’s art songs and through-composed pieces, Moye’s percussion workouts, and, of course, collective improvisation. Particularly powerful is the contribution of Moor Mother (Camae Ayewa), who, to prepare for the recording, was given nothing more than some old Art Ensemble recordings to listen to and the directive from Mitchell to "just be you". 

Mitchell and Moye are now 78 and 72, respectively, but one would never guess by their outlook. There is, of course some wistfulness when looking back, particularly with the passing of Joseph Jarman earlier this year, but the overwhelming feeling is anticipation of what is coming next or, as Moye always says, "focus and forward motion". It’s a clarion statement that Mitchell and Moye are intent on ushering The Art Ensemble of Chicago forcefully into its sixth decade. As Moor Mother declares: "We are on the edge!"