Jazz Articles about Hamid Drake

About Hamid Drake

Album Review

Frank Swart: This Is The One! (Raison D'êTre)

Read "This Is The One! (Raison D'êTre)" reviewed by Kyle Simpler

by Kyle Simpler
July 27, 2026

There is a common misconception that musical artists who release albums usually tour to promote them. While this may be true for the most part, there are exceptions. San Francisco-based bassist and composer Frank Swart is quick to point out that artists such as The Beatles were more focused on spending time in the studio creating albums than taking the show on the road. Swart's project Funkwrench Blues uses the studio to full effect, and this is evident on This Is The ...

Album Review

Alexander Hawkins: No Nation but Imagination

Read "No Nation but Imagination" reviewed by Kevin Poindexter

by Kevin Poindexter
June 12, 2026

Pianist and composer Alexander Hawkins has spent years at the forefront of the European jazz avant- garde scene, leading various mutations of the standard group format, from solo piano to large ensembles and everything in between. Experimenting with different dynamics, instruments, and musicians, and adapting them to fulfill the needs of the music has been his calling card for nearly two decades now. On No Nation But Imagination, Hawkins once again mixes things up, putting together a unique lineup featuring ...

Album Review

John Dikeman: No Kings

by John Sharpe
January 7, 2026

Recorded live in 2022, No Kings documents a volatile meeting between a formidable European horn partnership and American free jazz royalty. In 2015, expat American saxophonist John Dikeman initiated a trio with bassist William Parker and drummer Hamid Drake. Five years later, he invited Portuguese trumpeter Luis Vicente to join them, resulting in the quartet heard here on its second album, following Goes Without Saying, But It's Got To Be Said (JACC Records, 2020). The reedman and brass player share ...

Album Review

William Parker / Hamid Drake / Cooper-Moore: Heart Trio

Read "Heart Trio" reviewed by John Sharpe

by John Sharpe
November 16, 2024

By largely leaving behind their main instruments, three stalwarts of the New York avant jazz scene tap into something timeless and elemental on Heart Trio. Instead of his customary bass, William Parker wields an array of flutes, double reeds, and the doson ngoni, a six-stringed hunter's harp from West Africa allegedly the ancestor of the banjo. His long-time partner Chicago drummer Hamid Drake remains at his kit, which he supplements with a frame drum, while erstwhile pianist Cooper-Moore, another habitué ...

Album Review

Albert Beger / Ziv Taubenfeld / Shay Hazan / Hamid Drake: Cosmic Waves

Read "Cosmic Waves" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
August 10, 2024

Cosmic Wave is a stellar collaboration between tenor saxophonist Albert Beger, bass clarinetist Ziv Taubenfeld, bassist Shay Hazan and drummer Hamid Drake. The quartet, drawing from their diverse backgrounds and rich musical experiences, delivers an album that merges free jazz, avant-garde and spiritual music into a charismatic sonic journey. With roots spanning Israel and the United States, these musicians bring an eclectic mix of influences to the table, resulting in a sound as vast and varied as the cosmos itself. ...

Album Review

Paul Dunmall: Bright Light A Joyous Celebration

Read "Bright Light A Joyous Celebration" reviewed by John Sharpe

by John Sharpe
April 23, 2024

While the opener suggests a blowing session from veteran British saxophonist Paul Dunmall, as good as that promises to be, the reality is better still. Joining him is a starry cast drawn from succeeding generations, with the addition of American drummer Hamid Drake. With the drummer touring in the UK. Dunmall took the opportunity to renew a friendship that stretches back almost two decades, one first heard on the fiery Peace And Joy (Slam, 2006). Alongside them in the studio ...

Album Review

Hu Vibrational: Timeless

Read "Timeless" reviewed by Geno Thackara

by Geno Thackara
December 18, 2023

An Adam Rudolph recording is less a collection of musical pieces than of sound paintings. The elements he works with are musical ones--any instrument known to mankind might be used, and often even used to play notes--but traditions of form and melody tend to be tossed out the window from the start. The tones are treated as daubs of paint on a palette, splashed here and there whenever they will add something to whichever imaginary landscape he is evoking at ...