Jazz Articles

Rashied Ali Quintet: Judgment Day, Volume 1

by Erik R. Quick
August 7, 2007

Rashied Ali is most commonly associated with his short tenure as John Coltrane's drummer on Interstellar Space (Impulse!, 1967). His significant participation in the New York loft-jazz movement by opening “Ali's Alley in 1973 is also frequently cited. His most recent collaborations with saxophonist Sonny Fortune continue the conception of Ali as an explosive participant in free improvisation. Nevertheless, Ali's Judgment Day, Volume 1 is a strictly mainstream outing where he focuses his efforts as a teacher to those relatively ...

Rashied Ali Quintet: Judgment Day, Vol. Two

by Russ Musto
May 16, 2007

Although rightfully revered as one of the fathers of avant-garde drumming for his role in John Coltrane's last band, Rashied Ali grew up in Philadelphia during the heyday of hard bop, so it should come as no surprise to find him at the helm of a group that reflects the influence of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers and the Max Roach-Clifford Brown Quintet, as much as that of the freer music that flowed from the font of Coltrane. This ...

Rashied Ali Quintet: Judgment Day, Vol. One

by Jeff Stockton
March 11, 2007

Rashied Ali has always been unfairly typecast as the guy who usurped Elvin Jones from Coltrane's Classic Quartet, enforcing the dividing line between A Love Supreme and Trane's final phase, when the leader became all dissonant and difficult. Trane knew better than us, of course, but Ali's career after Trane didn't do much to change the perception that he was strictly a free jazzer, thanks to first-rate duet work with the late Frank Lowe, stellar performances in trios led by ...

Rashied Ali: No One in Particular

by David Adler
December 13, 2002

Rashied Ali's Tuesday night residency at Sweet Rhythm found him playing duets throughout November with alto saxophonist Sonny Fortune. Stretching doesn't begin to describe these improvisational whirlwinds, mostly standards - may the residency continue. Ali has had a busy 2002 - playing Tonic with Fortune only weeks before, preparing for a double-duo concert at Columbia on December 6th, and also releasing a disc titled No One In Particular some months ago.

The session itself dates back to 1992; ...

Rashied Ali Quintet: No One In Particular

by Glenn Astarita
July 15, 2002

Many of us might ordinarily surmise that a recording by famed modern jazz drummer Rashied Ali would reside within the free jazz spectrum of things. However, Ali and his quintet opts for the mainstream, post-Bop realm on this 2001 release, which presents the listener with a session recorded at a New York City studio in 1992. Interestingly enough, Ali utilizes the talents of saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, and a then young bassist Matthew Garrison, who has since enjoyed prominence performing with ...