Biography
In 1971 a group of free jazz players tied to AACM and BAG launched the Human Arts Ensemble, a cooperative devoted to both music and theater, in St. Louis, Missouri. Around 1970, public grants began to vanish for arts organizations viewed as linked to radical politics, leading drummer Charles Bobo Shaw to propose an open artistic collective that would admit participants without regard to race. The arrangement enabled the ensemble to maintain its radical stance and distinctive guerilla theater while still obtaining the government support required for survival.
The collective became a key workshop for improvising jazz musicians. Among those who joined sessions were Luther Thomas, Joseph Bowie, Marty Ehrlich, John Lindberg, and a young John Zorn, together with more established figures such as Lester Bowie and Oliver Lake. Recorded in 1973, the album Under the Sun reached the Arista/Freedom label in 1975, where it drew widespread critical praise and modest commercial returns despite its avant-garde character. Much of its appeal stemmed from the mixture of funk grooves and free improvisation. The ensemble mounted ambitious musical pageants in the St. Louis region through 1977, after which core members split, some relocating to New York while others stayed behind. The New York incarnation proved brief; Joseph Bowie soon concentrated on forming Defunkt, and the remaining participants moved on to separate projects.
The collective became a key workshop for improvising jazz musicians. Among those who joined sessions were Luther Thomas, Joseph Bowie, Marty Ehrlich, John Lindberg, and a young John Zorn, together with more established figures such as Lester Bowie and Oliver Lake. Recorded in 1973, the album Under the Sun reached the Arista/Freedom label in 1975, where it drew widespread critical praise and modest commercial returns despite its avant-garde character. Much of its appeal stemmed from the mixture of funk grooves and free improvisation. The ensemble mounted ambitious musical pageants in the St. Louis region through 1977, after which core members split, some relocating to New York while others stayed behind. The New York incarnation proved brief; Joseph Bowie soon concentrated on forming Defunkt, and the remaining participants moved on to separate projects.
Albums
