Recorded in 1972, Bap-Tizum was one of two albums The Art Ensemble of Chicago made for Atlantic in the early 1970s (the other being Fanfare for the Warriors). It’s one of many live albums in the group’s prolific discography, featuring the classic line-up of Roscoe Mitchell and Joseph Jarman on reeds, Lester Bowie on trumpet, Malachi Favors Maghostut on bass, Famoudou Don Moye on drums—and all of the above on auxiliary percussion and other curiosities. The second track, “Immm”, composed by Favors, is a full-on percussion ensemble. It’s followed by Mitchell’s almost Haka-like “Unanka”, which features a welter of sounds, including primal whoops and hollers, chanting and dramatic recitation, gongs, car horns, shakers and cowbell. The horns aren’t even heard at all on Bap-Tizum until “Oouffnoon”, in which Mitchell plays gorgeous, hymn-like chordal passages in a Duke Ellington vein. Elsewhere on the album, “Ohnedaruth”—credited to the full band—opens in a chaotic state, with Moye’s amazing conga work underlying all-out horn soloing in a sublime free-jazz spirit. And Mitchell’s “Odwalla”—set up by Bowie with an engaging, technically brilliant trumpet feature—explodes into fast bop as the group goes off, changing things up with balafon, bells, glockenspiel and other elements. Mitchell and Jarman both wind down on baritone saxes until the recording is unceremoniously cut off before the end. A line-up like this onstage in its early prime hits different, as they say—it’s like hearing the original Count Basie band of the 1930s, brimming with energy and rhythmic invention. In light of the group’s longevity and continuing impact—even after the loss of Bowie in 1999, Favors in 2004 and Jarman in 2019—Bap-Tizum and the many other Art Ensemble of Chicago releases of this period hold a special place as harbingers of what was to come.