Jazz Articles about Rashied Ali

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/Arthur Rhames: The Dynamic Duo Remember Trane and Bird

by Andrey Henkin
October 4, 2004

For some, Interstellar Space was the end of John Coltrane--and for others, just the beginning. As many people dislike Rashied Ali for being Trane's last drummer as like him for that same reason. Indisputable though is that Interstellar Space began the examination of new possibilities for the duet format, apart from the typical piano/bass example. Ali continued to explore this arrangement after the death of his mentor on albums like Duo Exchange with late saxophonist Frank Lowe and in his ...

John Coltrane: The Olatunji Concert: The Last Live Recording

by Colin Fleming
July 12, 2004

Composed almost entirely of violently shifting textures and a commitment to dissonance that all but blasphemes melody and musical forms, this document of John Coltrane's last recorded concert from April '67 is decidedly horrific, threatening, and appropriately staggering. Having forsaken his famous “sheets of sound" for a new, overly propulsive medium in the mid-sixties, Coltrane's last phase was nearly anti-jazz or, if one wants, almost anti-music. Yet on this recording it is Pharoah Sanders who truly has his ...

Sunrise Falling: Gene Ess

by Phil DiPietro
February 12, 2004

Gene Ess Sunrise Falling Amp Records 2003

Even if you knew who Gene Shimosato was, you're still going to be surprised when you hear Gene Ess! Fans of electronic music and fusion will be most pleasantly surprised with Sunrise Falling. Ess lays it on thick with the aural fruits from expert tinkering with his self-built, PC-based studio and tweaked-out tones produced from a diverse arsenal of axes. An absolutely world-class core rhythm tandem of ...

Rashied Ali

by Hank Shteamer
March 31, 2003

Rashied Ali is a survivor. Best known for replacing Elvin Jones as John Coltrane's drummer of choice in the mid-sixties, Ali has sustained himself as a working, thriving musician right through to the present day. Since his stint with Trane, Ali has founded a label, Survival Records, and a club, Ali's Alley; led countless groups in styles from funk to free; and mentored many young musicians (including John Coltrane's son, Ravi) while constantly refining his remarkable technique.

Ali performs in ...

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 / Peter Kowald / Assif Tsahar: Deals, Ideas & Ideals

by Derek Taylor
November 1, 2000

In the spring of 2000 German bassist Peter Kowald attempted the seemingly impossible and in the process made history. He commenced on a three-month concert tour of the United States starting in Florida, ranging up the East Coast, criss-crossing the Midwest, hitting the west coast and doubling back for a final string of dates in the east. Along the way he played approximately 50 shows, most beginning with a solo set and concluding with a cooperative performance with local musicians. ...