ABRAMS, MUHAL RICHARD - Celestial Birds

"The compilation Celestial Birds reveals and focuses on the widely unknown electronic compositions of the Association for the Advancement Of Creative Musicians (AACM) founder and jazz pianist, Muhal Richard Abrams. The fifth release in KarlRecords' Perihel Series, curated by zeitkratzer director, Reinhold Friedl. Anybody interested in jazz knows that Chicago has always been an impressive hot spot for new talents -- and still is. One essential landmark in the history and development of jazz was the founding of the AACM in May 1965. This non-profit organization was a melting pot (and starting point) for artists like Anthony Braxton, Roscoe Mitchell, George Lewis, or Lester Bowie and his Art Ensemble of Chicago but one of its actual founding members is known only to the deep connoisseurs: Muhal Richard Abrams (1930-2017). The autodidact pianist and composer left music school and university, deciding to learn music by himself. From 1961 on, the Experimental Band was his first ensemble, but