The Separatist Party

Forget New York, forget L.A. - the best rock music today is coming from London and the best jazz and improvisational music is coming from Chicago.

Setting aside rock and London for the time being, the roots planted by the AACM back in the 1960s may be responsible for the richness of the Chicago jazz and improvisational scene today. Certainly, visionary record labels like International Anthem and clubs like The Constellation are doing a lot to keep the branches of those roots flourishing. 

Just last week, Chicago drummer, bandleader, and composer Mike Reed released an album, The Separatist Party, on Helsinki-based We Jazz Records. The album features cornetist Ben Lamar Gay, a card-holding, member of the AACM, and members of Bitchin' Bajas (Cooper Crain, Dan Quinlivan, and Rob Frye). Poet and spoken word artist Marvin Tate contributes, well, spoken-word poetry. 

I like this record. A lot. I'm also happy to hear that The Separatist Party is but the first installment of a planned three-album cycle involving Reed and a varied cast of musicians.