In the mid-1960's, the Chicago & St. Louis jazz tradition became embodied in the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) in Chicago, and the Black Artist Group (BAG) in St. Louis. The two collectives were founded on the freedom principle & were dedicated to jazz as a living, vital expression. Oliver Lake & Julius Hemphill facilitated exchanges between the two groups - Lester Bowie, spending time in both locations, the common denominator. This album features AACM trumpeter Malachi Thompson with BAG saxmen Oliver Lake & Hamiet Bluiett.

Trumpeter's ninth album on Delmark contains the roots of freebop, featuring his earliest recordings dating back to 1972; also includes never before released tracks from 1988 with Carter Jefferson, James King & Nasar Abadey - all cuts are original compositions.

Thompson is joined by Billy Harper, Oliver Lake & Amiri Baraka - they have their origins in N.Y. in the fall of 1978 as part of the loft jazz scene - it contains mostly new original compositions + a 1993 performance w. Carter Jefferson & Joe Ford.

This 1997 release features Billy Harper, Carter Jefferson, Joe Ford, Dee Alexader, Ron Bridgewater and others. A lyrical bop player and cutting-edge free jazz musician, Malachi liked to call his music Freebop; a sound that simultaneously includes blues, straight ahead jazz, the funky grit of soul jazz, African roots and the dazzling extroverted technique of the modern era. 47th Street (the album) is Thompson's musical tribute to a vibrant period of black Chicago history, a period of economic vitality and cultural fluidity that made 47th Street (the actual street) the mainstream of black Chicago. (Previously deleted:4/1/11. Original release date:2/10/98)