Art Ensemble of Chicago: Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City: Live at the Iridium

The deaths of trumpeter Lester Bowie, in 1999, and bassist Malachi Favors, in 2004, have reduced the legendary Art Ensemble of Chicago to just three original members: drummer Don Moye and saxophonists Roscoe Mitchell and Joseph Jarman. The Bowie- and Jarman-less Tribute to Lester (2003) proved the avant-garde act could still operate with a diminished staff. But, as of this new double-disc Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City: Live at the Iridium, the group has, for the first time since 1970, added to its ranks with trumpeter Corey Wilkes and bassist Jaribu Shahid; an expansion that suggests that the core trio is most comfortable as a quintet.