Leo Smith with Marion Brown

Leo Smith emerged in Chicago in the mid-sixties as a fresh new trumpet player within the creative milieu of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, a cultural-economicpolitical collective of black avant-garde musicians and composers which includes Muhal Richard Abrams and the Experimental Band; Joseph A. Jarman, Rosecoe Mitchell, Lester Bowie and the Art Ensemble of Chicago; Anthony Braxton, Leroy Jenkins, Maurice MyIntyre, Steve McCall and a wealth of other creative artists.

Leo has recorded with Richard Abrams (“Levels and Degrees of Light”) and with Maurice McIntyre (“Humility

in the Light of the Creator”) on the Delmark label, with Anthony Braxton and others on European sessions, and has just released his own first record as a leader, “Creative Music — 1,” which he had pressed and is distributing himself.

Leo’s ensemble for the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival 1972 will feature master musician MARION BROWN on alto saxophone, reeds and a variety of hand-made instruments created by Marion himself; and trombonist-bassist LESTER LASHLEY of Chicago, long a leading figure in the AACM.