The Art Ensemble’s daring finale to their BYG Actuel trilogy
• Captured in Paris, 1969 - a seismic moment in free jazz history • The ultimate remastered edition — beautifully restored from the original tapes and housed in deluxe packaging • Features new liner notes by acclaimed writer John Masouri
Reese and the Smooth Ones was captured during the same revolutionary Paris session as Message to Our Folks, but stands apart as a two-part, 40-minute odyssey of unchained invention.
Arriving in Paris just days before recording, the Ensemble—Lester Bowie, Roscoe Mitchell, Malachi Favors, and Joseph Jarman—landed with nothing but their instruments, ideas, and a fierce determination to create. Funded by the proceeds of Bowie’s personal sacrifice, their journey from New York was a leap of faith that sparked an artistic revolution. Their Paris performances stunned audiences with a bold fusion of free jazz, spoken word, Dadaist theatre, and Afrocentric consciousness, setting a new precedent for what music could be. This deluxe reissue celebrates a defining moment in the Art Ensemble’s legacy—raw, urgent, and uncompromising. It’s an essential document for longtime fans, collectors, and anyone interested in the outer edges of jazz, politics, and sound.
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