In the early '70s, musicians from Chicago with origins in the AACM began to slowly migrate to New York City, sometimes with an intermediary stop in Europe. The Creative Construction Company, which consisted of violinist Leroy Jenkins, multi-reedist Anthony Braxton, trumpeter Leo Smith, and percussionist Steve McCall, had been based in Paris for several years and this concert signaled their U.S. return in a stunning sextet augmented by AACM co-founder Muhal Richard Abrams and legendary bassist Richard Davis. The two album-length compositions are both by Jenkins and showcase two of the "opposite" sides exemplified in the music of AACM outgrowth bands like the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Muhal is one of Jenkins' gorgeously heart-rending and plaintive ballad lines with an evocatively longing quality and deep romanticism, and Davis' bass counterpoint is a thing of singular beauty. It serves as a strong framework for some remarkable improvisations, especially that of the composer in rare pyrotechnic mode. But here, as on its companion piece, the emphasis is never on individual soloing but on group interaction; the underlying matrix is always kept full and busy by the use of various "little instruments" beloved by AACM alumni. The second piece, No More White Gloves, lives up to its title. A furious, churning work, it encapsulates the high energy end of the spectrum as practiced by the late-'60s avant-garde and, among other highlights, features a tumultuous, screaming alto solo by Braxton that ranks with his best work. This live concert, happily captured on tape, provides a wonderful glimpse into what each of these musicians would go on to achieve in ensuing decades, but is also simply a stellar event in and of itself. Very highly recommended. ~ Brian Olewnick, Rovi