The Art Ensemble embodied the AACM motto "Great Black Music, Ancient to the Future" with their use of costumes and face paint in performance plus the adventurous improvisation, the use of folk music and instruments, swing, and a variety of musical expression that made them hard to pin down to a specific genre.
The listener is engaged by the Ensemble's multi-instrumentalism, especially the use of what they term "little instruments" in addition to the traditional jazz lineup; "little instruments" can include bicycle horns, bells, birthday party noisemakers, wind chimes, and a vast array of percussion instruments (including found objects). These two characteristics combine to make the ensemble's performances as much a visual spectacle as an aural one, with each musician playing from behind a large array of drums, bells and other instruments.
The newest additions to the Art Ensemble are Corey Wilkes on trumpet and Jaribu Shahid on bass. The group is clear in saying that the two are in no way meant to replace the late Lester Bowie or Malachi Favors, but that they felt that the sounds, voices, timbres and rhythms of these two are consonant with the overall inegrity of the Art Ensemble.
Joseph Jarman died on January 9, 2019.
Illistrum
Art Ensemble Of Chicago Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Odwalla came through the people of the Sun into the grey Haze of the
Ghost world, vanished legends crowding breadlines,
The people of Sun coated with green chalk,
All kinds of warm light between them,
Destroyed for the silver queen of the ghost world.
Wild beast such as dog′s gone mad and lechers, the wanderers.
Odwalla came through the people of the Sun to warn them of the
Bounty through the practice of the drum and silent gong as taught by
Odwalla Was realized,
On seeing one another they transformed themselves into one the hand
The other the left the toe of Kuantupa,
The one who creates the door
Through passage on the hilllock, Kuanbuka.
Their purpose?
To guide the people of the Sun as they
Sought knowledge of the door through the grey Haze.
When Seeka saw the sound of the silent gong,
Seeka thought to transform itself into the right hand of Odwalla,
Where called Bisu, rested while waiting to move into the right big
Toe of Kuasupam the one who creates the door
Through the passage on the hilllock of Kuambuka
Their purpose?
To guide the people of the Sun as they seek to leave,
Seek to leave, seek to leave, seek to leave the grey Haze.
Only Rimumba remain to find the place of the drum and silent gong,
Such knowldege would enable him to inherit it to the inner organs of
Quasupam the one who creates the door to
The passage on the hilllock of Quanbuka.
Their purpose?
To guide the people of the Sun, the grey Haze
Odwalla vibrated the movement of combing gear all-for-you
Causing the silent gong to sound
Silent, the body whole, the grey Haze.
Sun, people, drum, silent gong, hear now...
Hear now...
Hear now, between us the grey haze, sun, people
The lyrics of the song Illistrum by Art Ensemble Of Chicago are written in a poetic and metaphorical language, making it difficult to interpret a specific meaning from them. The song seems to describe the journey of a character named Odwalla, who comes from the people of the Sun into the grey Haze of the Ghost world. He warns them of the vanished legends and teaches them to increase their bounty through the practice of the drum and silent gong. The people of the Sun transform themselves to guide the people through the grey Haze, seek knowledge of the door, and finally leave the haze with the help of the drum and silent gong. Rimumba, the only character who remains, seeks the place of the drum and silent gong to inherit it to the inner organs of Quasupam, the one who creates the door to the passage on the hilllock of Quanbuka.
In essence, the song Illistrum is a metaphor for a spiritual journey, where the characters transform themselves to guide others and seek knowledge in order to transcend the haze or limitations of their current state. The drum and silent gong represent the tools or practices needed to achieve this transcendence, and Odwalla represents the guide or teacher who helps to impart this knowledge to others.
Line by Line Meaning
Illistrum!
Introducing the title of the song.
Odwalla came through the people of the Sun into the grey Haze of the Ghost world, vanished legends crowding breadlines, The people of Sun coated with green chalk, All kinds of warm light between them, Destroyed for the silver queen of the ghost world.
Odwalla arrived in the Ghost world, which was grey and full of vanished legends who were poor and hungry. The people of Sun were there too, covered in green chalk, radiating warm light. They were eventually destroyed by the ruler of that world - the silver queen.
Wild beast such as dog′s gone mad and lechers, the wanderers.
There were many wild animals in the Ghost world, such as mad dogs and sexual predators. The wanderers were also present.
Odwalla came through the people of the Sun to warn them of the Vanished legends and to teach them how they'd made increase their Bounty through the practice of the drum and silent gong as taught by Odwalla Was realized
Odwalla warned the people of Sun about the vanished legends and taught them how to increase their wealth and abundance by playing the drum and silent gong, as Odwalla had taught them before.
On seeing one another they transformed themselves into one the hand The other the left the toe of Kuantupa, The one who creates the door Through passage on the hilllock, Kuanbuka.
When they saw each other, they transformed into one being - one became the hand and the other became the left toe of Kuantupa, the one who creates the door to the passage on the hilllock of Kuanbuka.
Their purpose? To guide the people of the Sun as they Sought knowledge of the door through the grey Haze.
The purpose of their transformation was to guide the people of Sun as they sought knowledge about the door that would lead them out of the grey Haze.
When Seeka saw the sound of the silent gong, Seeka thought to transform itself into the right hand of Odwalla, Where called Bisu, rested while waiting to move into the right big Toe of Kuasupam the one who creates the door Through the passage on the hilllock of KuambukaTheir purpose? To guide the people of the Sun as they seek to leave, Seek to leave, seek to leave, seek to leave the grey Haze.
When Seeka heard the sound of the silent gong, it wanted to transform into the right hand of Odwalla. There was Bisu there, waiting to move into the right big toe of Kuasupam - the one who creates the door to the passage on the hilllock of Kuambuka. Their purpose was to guide the people of Sun as they sought to leave the grey Haze.
Only Rimumba remain to find the place of the drum and silent gong, Such knowldege would enable him to inherit it to the inner organs of Quasupam the one who creates the door to The passage on the hilllock of Quanbuka. Their purpose? To guide the people of the Sun, the grey Haze
Only Rimumba was left to find the place where the drum and silent gong were held. If he found it, he would be able to inherit it to the inner organs of Quasupam - the one who creates the door to the passage on the hilllock of Quanbuka. Their purpose was still to guide the people of Sun in the grey Haze.
Odwalla vibrated the movement of combing gear all-for-you Causing the silent gong to sound Silent, the body whole, the grey Haze.
Odwalla made a sound like the movement of combing gears, causing the silent gong to sound. The sound was silent and went through the whole body, the grey Haze.
Sun, people, drum, silent gong, hear now... Hear now... Hear now, between us the grey haze, sun, people
The song concludes by urging the Sun, people, drum and silent gong to hear the message conveyed in the lyrics. It is addressed to the grey Haze, Sun and people.
Writer(s): Malachi Favors
Contributed by Jordyn H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.