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Close your eyes and listen to some of the pieces in saxophonist-percussionist Roscoe Mitchell's new CD, "Nine To Get Ready" (ECM) and you're in a sleek modern concert hall; listen to others and you'll find yourself in a smoky blues bar. Does he see himself more as a jazz or contemporary music composer? "I grew up never categorizing the music I listened to, which was whatever my parents were listening to, and that's never changed. What I've always enjoyed about my musical career is that when people ask me to perform, they never ask me to play anything in particular, it's always whatever I want to play. I'm lucky. A long time ago, Eddie Harris told me, 'look man, never get a hit!' Because everywhere he'd go, people would want to hear 'Exodus' or 'People.' He had the ability to reach out into many different musical areas but his audiences just wanted to hear the hits!" "Nine To Get Ready" is the fulfillment of a long-cherished goal of Mitchell's to assemble a group of improvising musicians with an orchestral range. His nine-man ensemble, The Note Factory, includes two pianists, two drummers and two bass-players. "I've been working on this band for over 20 years, exploring many different approaches to improvisation." Mitchell's other regular outfit, the Art Ensemble of Chicago, has been going even longer. The ensemble, whose other members are trumpeter Lester Bowie, bass player Malachi Favors and drummer Famoudou Don Moye, is now entering its fourth decade; only the Modern Jazz Quartet can compare to it in longevity and influence. The Art Ensemble of Chicago had a famous residency in Paris from 1969 to 1971. What was the scene like then? "I've never seen anything like that. It was incredible! There were people from all over the world here, from the Pan African Festival, from North and South America. If a person wanted to stay up 24 hours a day, you'd just go to different parts of Paris because you knew different musicians would be playing there. I am just so happy I had the opportunity to be in Paris at that time. The American Center was the hub, it was a high place of learning. I was studying drums there. There were spaces in the basement where people would rehearse all day and then there were the concerts, three or four a day. The word got out about it. A lot of people went there, and not just musicians. Just to see what was going on." Wasn't it tough to leave? "It was time, I think. We wanted to develop something back home, see our families. But in some ways we've never really left. I think people know us today because of what we did then. People remember. And it enriches me so much the memories all the music that was going on. There are no liabilities with an experience like that. Anything you can learn about music helps you." Roscoe Mitchell & The Note Factory, Apr 6, 8:30pm, Bobigny MC93, 1, bd Lénine, Metro Bobigny-Pablo Picasso, tel: 01.41.60.72.72, 95F/75F. |
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