People In Sorrow

Description

Finally reissued! Originally released in 1969 on Pathé Marconi (EMI), this 40-minute album, made by the quartet composed of Roscoe Mitchell, Joseph Jarman, Lester Bowie and Malachi Favors, had long remained unavailable on vinyl and CD, and was then only available in rare European and Japanese editions. It is without doubt the most accomplished and the most ambitious of the 14 studio albums recorded by the Art Ensemble during its 23-month stay in France, which propelled the American group onto the international stage. It can be considered the culmination of the Art Ensemble’s inventive and revolutionary approach to collective improvisation, contrasting free, noisy intensity with long moments of hushed conversation over the group’s immense arsenal of “small instruments.” Fully licensed by Warner Music and enriched with new liner notes written by veteran American music journalist Chris Morris, this reissue marks the long-awaited return of the album that John Corbett, Chicago-based writer, programmer and label head, describes as “one of the brightest creative music albums ever made.” REPRODUCTION OF THE ORIGINAL 1969 ARTWORK. This edition faithfully reproduces the first French Pathé-Marconi pressing from 1969, which originally featured black graphics on a light background (white or off-white) and red Pathé-Marconi labels, unlike the yellow cover of later editions. This Digipak CD comes with a 12-page booklet. The album was remastered from the original tapes by Moritz Illner (duophonique).