Dissertation Index
Author: Steinbeck, Paul Title: Urban Magic: The Art Ensemble of Chicago's Great Black Music Institution: Columbia University Begun: May 2006 Completed: May 2008 Abstract: This dissertation is an analytical and interpretive study of the Art Ensemble of Chicago's distinctive multi-disciplinary performance practice. In this dissertation I analyze and interpret three pivotal Art Ensemble performances: a 1969 studio album, a 1972 concert audio recording, and a 1981 concert video. I contend that Art Ensemble performances are structured around compositional/improvisational "interactive frameworks," which encompass the music-structural, the interpersonal, and the multimedia qualities of Art Ensemble performance practice. I also show that the members of the Art Ensemble articulate interactive frameworks in performance primarily through group-interactive processes of "convergence" and "divergence." Throughout the dissertation, I historically and culturally contextualize Art Ensemble performance practice by chronicling the social and artistic scenes experienced by the band: Chicagos Bronzeville, the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), 1960s bohemian cultures and the Black Arts Movement, Vietnam War-era Paris, and the international experimental-music scene. This dissertation breaks new ground as the most extensive study of the Art Ensembles music and as a comprehensive cultural history of the group. Keywords: Art Ensemble of Chicago, analysis of improvisation, analysis of multimedia, Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), performance practice, cultural history TOC: Introduction: "Listening to the Art Ensemble of Chicago" Chapter 1: "The South Side Scene" Bronzeville Malachi Favors Joseph Jarman Roscoe Mitchell School Days Meeting Richard Abrams The Association, I Chapter 2: "Art Ensembles" A Concert Showcase for Original Contemporary Music Lester Bowie The Roscoe Mitchell Art Ensemble The Association, II Joseph Jarman Quartet(s) Chapter 3: "The Art Ensemble of Paris" Musician Sells Out! Entering the City Saint-Leu-la-Fort Analysis: A Jackson in Your House Recordings, Festivals, Brigitte Don Moye On the Road, I Chapter 4: "Great Black Music" Coming Home Analysis: Live at Mandel Hall On the Road, II Funky AECO Chapter 5: "The Tree Structure" Side Projects A Fascinating Commodity Analysis: Live from the Jazz Showcase Multimedia Live from the Jazz Showcase Conclusion: "Immm" Bibliography Discography Appendix 1: A Note on the Transcriptions Appendix 2: Instrument List, A Jackson in Your House Appendix 3: Instrument List, Live at Mandel Hall Appendix 4: Instrument List, Live from the Jazz Showcase Contact: Paul Steinbeck School of Music The University of British Columbia 6361 Memorial Road, Vancouver, B.C. V6T 1Z2 Canada 604.822.3113 paul.steinbeck@gmail.com |