Black Artists Group

Shaped in the past due 60s in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, by drummer Charles ‘Bobo’ Shaw and actor-poet Ajule Rutlin, Handbag was directly influenced by Chicago’s AACM. It had been an attempt to market black performers and motivate co-operation instead of competition. Its most well-known members had been Oliver Lake (alto saxophone), Joseph Bowie (trombone), Baikida Carroll (trumpet) and Julius Hemphill and Marty Ehrlich (both tenor saxophone). The necessity to pursue individual professions destroyed the business when five leading people left to get a Western tour. Unlike the AACM, there have been not enough young members to maintain its existence. However, BAG can be an essential reminder of when music artists sought to regulate their destiny.