Recorded at the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival in 1972, this live date (recorded in its entirety and without stops) signals the Art Ensemble"s return from a four-year stint in Paris. Moreover, this legendary concert was the Art Ensemble"s first American festival appearance--ever. Perhaps seeking to make up for lost time, the band (now composed of Lester Bowie, Roscoe Mitchell, Joseph Jarman, Malachi Favors, and new drummer Don Moye) storms out of the gate with a tsunami of African percussion on Moye"s "Nfamoudou-Boudougou." The music morphs into a series of dramatic (and aurally enthralling) set pieces, and the listener can only guess at what theatrics were being played out onstage. Moving between pensive horn thinking and all-out blister raising, the set ebbs and flows with a remarkable combination of energy and emotion. By the time the band closes the set with a jaw-dropping rendition of its theme, "Odwalla," the crowd--which has been taken on the ride of its life--sounds as if it is ready to storm the stage and drag the band back. Meanwhile, MC John Sinclair seizes the mic and, quite breathless, can only repeat the band"s name over and over again. Gathering himself, he proclaims, "What a mighty band indeed!" He"s right. On this day, there was no band mightier than the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Highly recommended. --S. Duda