The Third Decade is an album by the Art Ensemble of Chicago recorded in June 1984 and released on ECM the following year.

[1][2][3][4] In his review for AllMusic, Stephen Cook stated "For the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Third Decade marked both the end of their relationship with the ECM label and the beginning of a more streamlined stretch of music making.

The band would cut back on their once predominant, free-form explorations to make room for more bebop and crossover material".

[5] The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD reviewed the album negatively, calling it "nothing so much as the atrophy of a once-radical band.

"[7] Spin wrote, "While not a spectacular LP it is an important exhibit of the kinds of musical moods the group has created over the years.