While attending high school in Chicago in the early '50s,
Jarman took up the drums under the tutelage of the famous music
teacher Walter Dyett. He switched to saxophone and clarinet
while in the army. Upon his discharge in 1958, he returned to
Chicago. There, he joined pianist Muhal Richard Abrams'
Experimental Band (formed in 1961), alongside his future Art
Ensemble compatriots Malachi Favors and Mitchell. Jarman played
in a hard bop sextet with Mitchell, and in 1965, he became one
of the first members of the Association for the Advancement of
Creative Musicians.
Starting around 1967, Jarman was one of the first saxophonists
to perform solo, a tactic also embraced by other members of the
AACM, notably Anthony Braxton. Jarman led his own group from
1966-1968, which included bassist Charles Clark, drummer Thurman
Barker, and pianist Christopher Gaddy, among others. Separate
editions of that band recorded a pair of albums for Delmark:
Song for... (1966) and As if it were the Seasons (1968). In
1967, Lester Bowie recorded Numbers 1 & 2 for Nessa; on "2," the
four musicians who would become the Art Ensemble (Bowie,
Mitchell, Favors, and Jarman) recorded together for the first
time. In 1969, that band would become Jarman's primary creative
outlet. By then, the untimely deaths of Gaddy and Clark had
compelled Jarman to disband his own group. Jarman would continue
with the Art Ensemble until 1993. In that time, he also recorded
under his own name, for the Black Saint, AECO, and India
Navigation labels. Upon leaving the Art Ensemble, Jarman
virtually retired from music, in order to devote himself more
completely to spiritual matters. As the '90s progressed,
however, he did continue to perform and record, often as a guest
with such musicians as Marilyn Crispell, guitarist/composer
Scott Fields, bassist Reggie Workman, and drummer Lou Grassi. ~
Chris Kelsey, All Music Guide