Results for "Kahil El'Zabar"

Joshua Abrams’ Cloud Script: Cloud Script

by Mark Corroto
March 16, 2021

You can take bassist Joshua Abrams out of his Natural Information Society, but you can't take the Natural Information Society out of Abrams. His long- lived ensemble, which traffics in long-form psychedelic environmental music, has made a permanent imprint on just about everything Abrams does. In bands led by Nicole Mitchell, Hamid Drake, Dave Rempis, and ...

Nathan Clevenger, Paulina Porszke & Emanuele Parrini

by Maurice Hogue
February 17, 2021

Several new artists pop up in this episode inclduing guitarist Nathan Clevenger from California, Polish pianist Paulina Porszke, English duo Gus Garside and Hervé Perez, and French pianist Loïc Dequidt now living in Sweden. Italian violinist Emanuele Parrini's new album, Digging (Reflections On Jazz And Blues) is ear-opening. Lots of good stuff for you as well, ...

Remembering Lester Bowie

by Lazaro Vega
January 21, 2021

From the 1995-2003 archive: This article first appeared at All About Jazz in December 1999. Lester Bowie played several concerts and made one so far un-issued recording in the late 1990's with Kahil El'Zabar's Ritual Trio plus poetess Ntozake Shange. The evening of grooves, improvisation and poetry came to Grand Rapids, Michigan, in ...

Spirit Groove

By Kahil El'Zabar

Label: Spiritmuse Records
Released: 2020
Track listing: In My House; Necktar; Songs Of Myself; Katon; In The Spirit; Trane In Mind; One World Family;

Angel Bat Dawid, Fay Victor, Satoko Fujii and Clean Feed Releases

by Maurice Hogue
December 30, 2020

Risk-taking singer Fay Victor's powerhouse new album for ESP-Disk is called We've Had Enough, but the title could easily be used on Angel Bat Dawid's latest as well. It reflects some rather shabby treatment on a recent our in Europe. Her album Live sees and Tha Brothahood in full bore. Other new releases sampled come from ...

Lionel Loueke, Roberto Cecchetto, Prince & Miles, Bootsy & More New Releases

by Ludovico Granvassu
November 26, 2020

In this week's exploration of new and upcoming releases we explore a whole range of human interactions, from Matt Wilson's hugs to Kahil El'Zabar's jumps and shout, from Prince and Miles Davis going mano a mano to Bootsy Collins and Branford Marsalis proceeding arm in arm like true funkateeers, from Antoine Pierre following Miles' steps to ...

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.

Be Known Ancient​/​Future​/​Music

By Ethnic Heritage Ensemble

Label: Self Produced
Released: 2019
Track listing: N2 Deep (for Randy Weston, Jerry Gonzalez, Cecil Taylor); Freedom Jazz Dance; Little Sunflower (for Roy Hargrove); Be Known; Black is Back; Blew It (for Hamiet Bluiett); Wish I Knew (from the film 'Be Known'); Pharoah; Lost in myself (Live at the Loving Cup); Ntozake (for Ntozake Shange); Little Sunflower / Percussion (for Freddie Hubbard); Oof (Live at the Loving Cup).

Ai Confini tra Sardegna e Jazz 2019

by Luciano Rossetti
October 6, 2019

Photos from the “Ai Confini tra Sardegna e Jazz 2019" Festival held in Sant'Anna Arresi, in the south of Sardinia, from August 30th to September 8th, featuring, among others, Rob Mazurek and Exploding Star Orchestra, Dwight Trible, Kahil El'Zabar, Greg Tate and Burnt Sugar Arkestra, Lonnie Holley, Matthew Shipp Trio, Joshua Abrams and Natural Information Society. ...

Harris Eisenstadt, Whit Dickey, Gard Nilssen and More

by Maurice Hogue
August 28, 2019

A very eclectic show this time out: drummers are front and center: Joao Lencastre, Whit Dickey, Gard Nilssen, Harris Eisenstadt, Kahil El'Zabar from the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble and Germany's Max Andrzejewski. The latter and his band Hütte are tackling the music of rocker/composer Robert Wyatt. If that isn't off the wall, how about a combination of ...