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.
Recorded during a six-night stand in the spring of 2004-just months after Favors passed away-Non-Cognitive finds Art Ensemble eschewing its scary-funny edge in favor of a more ritualistic take on free improv. Thus, even the inevitable bang-on-a-hubcap tomfoolery has an almost ambient effect, as if Mitchell and Co. realize that their transgressions are now tradition-and should come across as such. Or perhaps it’s just that Bowie and Favors’ replacements are more traditional players. Either way, these easy-going performances may not channel the dearly departed, but they sure are nice to come home to.