Joseph Jarman

Joseph Jarman was not as accomplished a saxophonist as his reed-playing partner in the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Roscoe Mitchell, but his sense of color was fine, his blunt-edged improvisations projected an emotional immediacy of their own, and his interest in poetry and theater informed the band's live performances. While attending high school in Chicago in the early '50s, Jarman took up the drums under the tutelage of the famous music teacher Walter Dyett. He switched to saxophone and clarinet while in the army. Upon his discharge in 1958, he returned to Chicago. There, he jo...