''Artifacts'' is an album by a collective trio consisting of Nicole Mitchell on flute and electronics, Tomeka Reid on cello and Mike Reed on drums, which was recorded in 2015 and released on 482 Music. The trio, which Tomeka Reid conceived for a concert in Seattle early in 2015, was formed to celebrate the legacy of the

Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) is an American nonprofit organization, founded in 1965 in Chicago by pianist Muhal Richard Abrams, pianist Jodie Christian, drummer Steve McCall, and composer Phil Cohran. The AA ...

during its 50th anniversary, interpreting compositions by some of its members.''Artifacts''
at 482 Music Cover art by Lewis Achenbach, created live during the 50th anniversary of the AACM at Mandel Hall in Chicago.

Music

"Composition 23B" was composed by

Anthony Braxton Anthony Braxton (born June 4, 1945) is an American experimental composer, educator, music theorist, improviser and multi-instrumentalist who is best known for playing saxophones, particularly the alto. Braxton grew up on the South Side of Chi ...

, originally from the album '' Quartet: Live at Moers Festival''. "Jo Jar" is a composition by

Roscoe Mitchell Roscoe Mitchell (born August 3, 1940) is an American composer, jazz instrumentalist, and educator, known for being "a technically superb – if idiosyncratic – saxophonist". ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' described him as "one of the key figure ...

dedicated to Joseph Jarman, which was recorded by his Quartet in 1966 and released in 2011 in the album '' Before There Was Sound''. ''Bernice'', a piece written by Fred Anderson, is coupled with "Days Fly By with Ruby", a Jeff Parker's composition based on a Fred Anderson saxophone riff. "The Clowns" is a Leroy Jenkins's piece originally from the album '' Space Minds, New Worlds, Survival of America''. "Have Mercy on Us" is by Amina Claudine Myers, originally from the album '' Song for Mother E''. "B.K." and "I'll Be Right Here Waiting" are two compositions by

Steve McCall Stephen Harold McCall (born 15 October 1960) is an English retired footballer who now works as a scout for Carlisle United. A defensive midfielder during his playing days, McCall built a reputation as a cultured midfield player, with immacul ...

, originally from the albums ''

Air Mail Airmail (or air mail) is a mail transport service branded and sold on the basis of at least one leg of its journey being by air. Airmail items typically arrive more quickly than surface mail, and usually cost more to send. Airmail may be the ...

'' and '' Air Time''. "Munkt Munk" is a

Muhal Richard Abrams Muhal Richard Abrams (born Richard Lewis Abrams; September 19, 1930 – October 29, 2017) was an American educator, administrator, composer, arranger, clarinetist, cellist, and jazz pianist in the free jazz medium. He recorded and toured the Uni ...

composition from his album '' Colors in Thirty-Third''. "Light on the Path" was written by Edward Wilkerson, originally from the album ''

Sideshow In North America, a sideshow is an extra, secondary production associated with a circus, traveling carnival, carnival, fair, or other such attraction. They historically featured human oddity exhibits (so-called “Freak show, freak shows”), pr ...

'' by the band 8 Bold Souls.

Reception

The ''

Down Beat ''DownBeat'' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...

'' review by Bill Meyer notes "The performances are pithy and lucid, which makes for satisfying listening, and also makes the record accessible enough to be a good introduction to the avant-garde."Meyer, Bill. ''Artifacts'' review. ''Down Beat'' January 16: page 64. Print. The

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

review by Hrayr Attarian states "Expressive and frantic at times, tender and impressionistic at others this cohesive and fascinating record is a reflection of a shared artistic vision. One that not only brings together three contemporary masters of extemporized music but also spans half a century and defines an intrepid and revolutionary movement that keeps going strong."Attarian, Hrayr
''Artifacts'' review
at

Track listing

# "Composition 23B" (

) – 3:26 # "Jo Jar" (

) – 4:35 # "Bernice / Days Fly By with Ruby" ( Fred Anderson / Jeff Parker) – 8:15 # "The Clowns" ( Leroy Jenkins) – 4:28 # "Have Mercy on Us" ( Amina Claudine Myers) – 6:06 # "B.K." (

) – 5:48 # "I'll Be Right Here Waiting" (Steve McCall) – 3:11 # "Munkt Munk" (

) – 4:30 # "Light on the Path" ( Edward Wilkerson) – 5:54

Personnel

* Nicole Mitchell -

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

electronics Electronics is a scientific and engineering discipline that studies and applies the principles of physics to design, create, and operate devices that manipulate electrons and other Electric charge, electrically charged particles. It is a subfield ...

* Tomeka Reid –

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

* Mike Reed –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

References

{{Authority control 2015 collaborative albums Nicole Mitchell (musician) albums Tomeka Reid albums Mike Reed (musician) albums