8 Bold Souls

All Music Guide:

Perhaps it's because he stayed put in Chicago while so many of his AACM colleagues moved to New York, or maybe because he's a bit younger than his more well-known compatriots, but tenor saxophonist Edward Wilkerson Jr. has never gotten the exposure his talents deserve. In the '80s, when N.Y.C.-based saxophonist and bandleader David Murray was getting raves for his octet work, Wilkerson's 8 Bold Souls were making music every bit as profound. Indeed, Wilkerson's outfit outshone Murray's in many ways -- in terms of compositional rigor and ensemble precision 8 Bold Souls was far superior to Murray's band -- yet they got none of the critical attention afforded that overly loose unit. The band first came together in January 1985 for a series of Thursday night concerts at the downtown Chicago performance venue Chicago Filmmakers. The concerts themselves were entitled New Music for 8 Bold Souls; the name stuck. Wilkerson's energetic tenor is the dominant solo voice; as impressive a player as he is, however, 8 Bold Souls is primarily a compositional vehicle (to hear Wilkerson in top improvisational form, hear the three-piece Ethnic Heritage Ensemble). The band showcases the leader's good-humored, highly ambitious, and multi-faceted writing style. Wilkerson exploits the band's unusual instrumentation, gleaning unusual timbres from a combination that emphasizes the lower end of the tonal spectrum (Wilkerson uses both double bass and tuba). The band has been intermittently active since their formation. They recorded a pair of albums for the Arabesque label in the early '90s, but their next, (Last Option), did not appear until 1999 on the Chicago-based Thrill Jockey label. The group seems to have undergone something of a rebirth at the turn of the millennium; in addition to the new album, in 2001 they performed at Chicago's Symphony Center and several festivals, including one in Lisbon, Portugal.

Wikipedia:

8 Bold Souls is an American jazz ensemble, led by reedist Edward Wilkerson.

The group was founded in 1985 by Wilkerson, who had previously been a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. They began at Chicago Filmmakers, a performance spot in Chicago where they played on Thursdays. The performances were initially dubbed "New Music for 8 Bold Souls", and the group eventually adopted the shortened name for performances elsewhere. 8 Bold Souls were active intermittently through the 1990s, recording for Arabesque Records, and in 1999 released an album on Thrill Jockey, following it with performances at the Chicago Symphony Center and at festivals.

Mwata Bowden is among the musicians to play in the group. Other members include trumpeter Robert Griffin, trombonist Isaiah Jackson, tubists Aaron Dodd and Gerald Powell, cellist Naomi Millender, bassist Harrison Bankhead, and percussionist Dushun Moseley.

Aaron Dodd died on June 17, 2010, due to complications of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In addition to his time with 8 Bold Souls, Dodd also worked with Leroy Hutson, The Pharaohs and Donny Hathaway.