Born in Frederick (Maryland), trumpeter Lester Bowie came from a family of musicians who put down roots in St. Louis when he was still a child. He began playing the trumpet at an early age, and young came to participate in one or another group of Rhythm & Blues. new graduate married to singer Fontella Bass and moved to Chicago in 1956. A decision was momentous for its future as a musician. He contacted Muhal Richard Abrams, Roscoe Mitchell and Joseph Jarman, musicians, all representatives of the avant-garde jazz of the time. That touchdown was born the famous musical institution: Association for the advancement of creative musicians (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians) in its

acronym: AACM In 1976, Bowie joined Roscoe Mitchell and the bassist, Malachi Favors, to create a group in the history of modern jazz: The Art Ensemble "later renamed" Art Ensemble of Chicago. " Lengthy and complex improvisations, a derisive and brash phrasing, noises and sounds you never used before in jazz and blues-based, resulted in a creative music which consolidated the group as one of the undisputed modern jazz references. In 1969, New York fell for her, went to Paris where he developed the stereotype scenically forever identified him: his physician's white coat and his temper on stage, sarcastic and sour. Although never a musician noted for his technique nor by the beauty of his music, Lester Bowie was until his death in 1999, one of the most original trumpet players in contemporary jazz.