A Jackson In Your House / Message To Our Folks
Released
These two albums were part of a massive outpouring of material from the Art Ensemble when they landed in Paris in summer 1969. All their sonic touchstones are present: squalling free jazz, theatrical performances (“Get In Line” and “Rock Out” parody military life and contemporary rock, respectively) and a taste for odd, even pranksterish use of non-traditional instruments like bicycle horns, gongs, sirens, and literal bells and whistles. But behind the wild-man outbursts and clattering percussion, there’s always a sharp, focused intelligence at work.