Jazz Articles about Khan Jamal

Philly Icon Khan Jamal (RIP), William Parker Birthday and other tributes

by David Brown
January 21, 2022

This week, we celebrate Philly icon, vibraphonist Kahn Jamal who we lost this week at age 75. Next, a 70th birthday shout out to bassist/composer William Parker, and other tributes. Then, new music from Philly with Sonic Liberation Front, and South Africa with Malcolm Jiyane Tree-O. Welcome friends and neighbors to The Jazz Continuum. Old, new, in, out...wherever the music takes us. Each week, we will explore the elements of jazz from a historical perspective. Playlist Petter Eldh ...

Sounds of Liberation: Sounds of Liberation

by AAJ Italy Staff
November 2, 2010

Il periodo è quello tra la fine dei Sessanta e la metà dei Settanta. Sono gli anni post-new thing e post-Coltrane, della coscienza nera e della Great Black Music, per dirla alla maniera di Chicago; gli anni dello sguardo rivolto alla Madre Africa, all'Oriente e, di tanto in tanto, al Sud America; gli anni delle Pantere Nere, dei pugni alzati di John Carlos e Tommy Smith, del rapimento di Patricia Hearst; gli anni dell'ultimo Ayler e dell'eternamente incompreso New Grass, ...

Khan Jamal: Cool

by Francis Lo Kee
July 10, 2009

Always interesting and quite different from one to the next, vibraphonist Khan Jamal's recordings have charted a unique course through the world of improvisational music, from trio recordings with bass and drums or guitar and drums to sessions with great horn players (eg. Grachan Moncur III, Byard Lancaster, Charles Tyler, et. al.) to the somewhat psychedelic (1972's Drum Dance To The Motherland). Cool, self-released minimally by Jamal in 2002, is no exception. Originally recorded in 1989, the ...

Khan Jamal - Dylan Taylor: Fire & Water

by AAJ Italy Staff
August 18, 2008

Ecco una di quelle incisioni che sulla carta sembrerebbe destinata agli addetti ai lavori, e che invece ha tanti spunti interessanti anche per chi vuole lasciarsi affascindare dalle atmosfere coinvolgenti di un duo insolito: violoncello (ed a volte contrabbasso) e vibrafono (qua e là rimpiazzato dalla marimba e dal balafon). Khan Jamal è da lungo tempo sul palcoscenico, spesso in contesti fuori dalla tradizione mainstream, come ad esempio i brani incisi nel gruppo di Sunny Murray al festival tenuto nel ...

Khan Jamal - Human Arts Ensemble: Drumdance to the Motherland

by Francis Lo Kee
March 28, 2007

This is a re-release of a record that came out on the independent Philadelphia-based record label, Dogtown (slang for the Germantown section of Philadelphia where many of the city's musicians lived). It is a unique a view into an under-recognized musician and an important period in creative music. Besides being a composer and improvising vibraphonist (among other instruments), Khan Jamal is a sincere, exciting player whose music has elements of melody, harmony and rhythm that communicate over ...

Khan Jamal Quintet: Black Awareness

by Rex Butters
November 16, 2005

Vibraphonist Khan Jamal's fourth session for CIMP finds the veteran in the company of old friends for a relaxed atmosphere in which to blow. Longtime collaborator Byard Lancaster plays a sweetly inflected alto that's also capable of a bite. Trombonist Grachan Moncur III stays low-key, most times preferring understatement. Bassist Dylan Taylor and drummer Dwight James keep the pot stirred, while Jamal remains his own man, dwelling on a repetitive line, toying with an innocent melody, or launching dizzying patterns ...

Khan Jamal: Peace Warrior

by Germein Linares
June 28, 2005

Vibraphonist Khan Jamal leads the charge on the eclectic and vibrant Peace Warrior. The album's content, some of which was originally issued in '82 as Don't Take No!, combines recording sessions from '82 and '89. Released on CD by New York-based Random Chance Records, Peace Warrior places a good amount of its emphasis in introducing and integrating the sounds of the synthesizer and the catchy snap of pop beats into its jazz dance.

The resulting music is novel, even twenty ...