Results for "Kahil El'Zabar"

Kahil El'Zabar

Born: November 11, 1953

Internationally renowned percussionist and composer Kahil El'Zabar is considered one of the most prolific jazz innovators of his generation. Indeed El'Zabar is a true "Renaissance Man," with a musical style and content that flows from ancient Africa to the modern world. In his own words, "The spirit of one's approach comes first before the technical. All the facility in the world with nothing that comes from the heart doesn't make good music. The basis of the strength of any artistic evolution has come from ethnicity."

Even though he is fully grounded in the history and music of his African American community, he has taken his studies deeper, ingeniously incorporating African music and instrumentation, producing a unique and wonderfully engaging sound. He credits his community with providing some direction towards African sensibility. "I grew up in a period when African Americans, as a large body, finally started addressing our roots. With African drums there was such an appeal in the way of playing with the hands and the sense of the entire body being involved in the playing of the instrument." El'Zabar is an accomplished musician with mastery of a variety of instruments, from the elementary - congas, bongos, African drums, shekere, gongs, and trap drums - to the esoteric - balaphon, marimba, sanza, kalimba and berimbau.

The Majesty of Chicago Jazz: Twenty-Five Visionaries Who Define the City's Sound

by Karl Ackermann
October 2, 2026

The Majesty of Chicago Jazz: Twenty-Five Visionaries Who Define the City's Sound Howard Reich 288 Pages ISBN: #978-0-226-84644-6 University of Chicago Press 2026 Jazz may have been born in New Orleans, but it came of age in Chicago. In The Majesty of Chicago Jazz: Twenty-Five Visionaries Who Define the ...

Trumpet Trios: Bass, Drums and Trumpet

by Jon Greenbaum
September 13, 2026

On this special edition of North Star Sounds we focus on trumpet trios (trumpet, bass, drums). Check out the vibrant variety of approaches and moods created with just these three instruments. Playlist Steven Bernstein “Mammoth" from Resonation Trio (Royal Potato Family) 00:00 Ramon Lopez / Percy Pursglove / Rafal Mazur"au lapin agile" from Threefold ...

Peter Ehwald, Stéphane Kerecki & Tribute to Bob Rogers

by Maurice Hogue
April 15, 2026

The 2026 German Jazz Prize nominees have been announced and by chance it happens one of the woodwind nominees is featured in this episode: saxophonist Peter Ehwald, whose music has been played many times on OMJ. In this show, he's featured leading his Tee Trio recorded live at Berlin's B-Flat Club and in duet performance with ...

Innovations & Lineage: The Chicago Project

By Emma Dayhuff

Label: Division 81
Released: 2025

Emma Dayhuff: Jaribu

by Ludovico Granvassu
September 20, 2025

Innovations & Lineage: The Chicago Project marks the much-anticipated leader debut of a bassist whose profile keeps rising, Emma Dayhuff. Now increasingly active in Los Angeles--where the scene is ever more intertwined with Chicago's--Dayhuff chose to return to the city that shaped her for this album. As the title suggests, the record is about ...

Emma Dayhuff, Nils Petter Molvær, Linda May Han Oh, Jim Black & More

by Ludovico Granvassu
September 19, 2025

If you admire musicians that have developed a signature sound, then this is the playlist for you!Happy listening!Playlist Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00 Jim Black & The Schrimps “The Sheila" Better You Don't (Intakt) 0:16 Host talks 5:37 Nils Petter Molvær “Solid Ether" KHMER (Live ...

Ornette Coleman's and Horace Silver's "Lonely Woman" — A Disambiguation

by Artur Moral
July 27, 2025

Reality is filled with confusion and misunderstandings; some are suggestive or creative, while others are disappointing or, worse, malicious. The jazz world is no stranger to the first type: specific compositions are often confused or misidentified as if they were the same. Usually, this happens because of similar melodies or titles that are sometimes identical. This ...

Christoph Irniger's Pilgrim: Human Intelligence (live)

by Mark Corroto
April 9, 2025

"The one thing I concluded was not to try and reproduce a live event--I thought, live goals are different. There might be more improvisation, more risk," Christoph Irniger reflects in the liner notes to Pilgrim's 2023 studio album Ghost Cat (Intakt). The saxophonist and composer reinforces the idea with this electrifying live recording, captured at Red ...

Ten Terrific Sax Plus Organ Combinations

by Artur Moral
February 12, 2025

OK, maybe the electric guitar was its first and most celebrated love affair, but the organ's alliances with the saxophone's family members are undoubtedly among the richest musical combinations, both in terms of sound and the intense interrelationships that typically develop in such encounters. Whether it be a tenor with a Hammond, a soprano with an ...