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Travelling the Spaceways, and Tara’s Song Review (.pdf) Tara’s Song "Beautifully packaged in colorful, sturdy cardboard with an attached booklet of photos, producer’s notes, musician bios, and commentary on the songs from Abdullah, Tara’s Song is marvelous. Bang’s arrangement of Ornette’s “Lonely Woman” is a revelation. Bang’s plinking violin, Alex Blake’s driving, reverberating bass, and Andrei Strobert’s rolling drums suggest that this woman isn’t so much lonely as on the prowl. Abdullah, Bang and Harding (who blows as if he’s trying to shake off a memory before shouting “enough!”) solo like the hellhounds are on their trail. "The rest of the CD maintains this level of excellence. It's present in the sadly beautiful melody of Abdullah’s title track, where the leader’s solo combines the fragile lyricism of Sketches of Spain with the grit of “The Sidewinder”; on Frank Lowe’s staggered calypso, “Nothing But Love,” which features a wonderful stomping double-time Harding solo; on two homages to the Ebonic Tones’ spiritual leader, Sun Ra, where there is a smile in Abdullah’s voice as he delivers the loopy lyrics; and on “Blue Monk,” which swings like a screen door on a windy day. The program finishes with a brief “Iko Iko,” with background vocals from someone who sounds like Jerome calling out to Bo Diddley. One can only imagine how joyous this band is live."
"Travelling the Spaceways is the fruit of the labor of long-time Sun Ra trumpeter Ahmed Abdullah’s Dispersions of the Spirit of Ra—a band formed after Abdullah was visited in a dream by his former band leader. His mission? To play Sun Ra’s music. Abdullah surrounded himself with some fierce musicians and set out to do justice to some of Ra’s vast catalog. The result does for Sun Ra’s songs what the Mingus Big Band has done for that great composer’s work. The recording features a series of re-workings and propulsions from people with the ability to take this material to new—and appropriate—heights. The title track builds gradually—a triumphant, floating marvel, erupting into a cataclysmic celebration. These are moving, breathing works-in-progress by a forward-moving band. Take the timely “21’st Century Suite," a decades-old gem, which could’ve been written last week (or tomorrow!). Poet (and WBAI radio host) Louis Reyes Rivera adds a paean of human possibility. Reyes and vocalist/poet Monique Ngozi Nri complement the music and ride the rhythms masterfully. Abdullah’s group presents the rich, elegant Ra—almost Elingtonian in its warmth—swinging exultantly. Abdullah and Co. have that something extra: zeal. That’s something that can’t be faked. Take a tune like the boppish “Dancing Shadows" and “Love in Outer Space." Check Cody Moffett’s tasty drumwork on the former, or Masujaa’s guitar on the latter. Trombonist Craig Harris is paired with the truly stellar likes of violinist Billy Bang, Alex Harding (baritone) and Salim Washington (tenor). This is music that conveys a deep sincerity. Bands like this one might well be able to keep not only Sun Ra’s memory—but all that is good about jazz—alive."
"Life's Force is delightful surprise! When I saw the instrumental personnel, titles and stark black and white cover of this album,I expected a knotty ascetic avant garde offering. Nothing could be further from the truth, for this album sparkles with glimmering melodic passages and romantic, rhapsodic turns. Abdullah is a sextet with an odd configuration of three
doubled instrumental groups; Brass, percussion and strings.
The music weaves the six instruments together with maximum effect. Abdullah's
trumpet, the main solo voice rises over the patterns with one of the cleanest,
most regal tones to come along since big bands featured lead trumpets
playing ballad solos." "These two records Liquid Magic (Silkheart) and Ahmed
Abdullah and the Solomonic Quintet featuring Charles Moffett
(Silkheart) by the New York based trumpeter Ahmed Abdullah and his most
recent bands are well worth searching
out. Abdullah was in town recently with Sun Ra and his almost 15 year
tenure with that innovative master has left a very postive imprint on
Abdullah's own compositions and technique.Liquid Magic features one of
Sun Ra's tunes (the bop-like Mystery of Two) as well as a handful of Ahmed's
own African,funk and bop inspired tunes." "Abdullah’s very fine last album Liquid Magic sounded
more South African than any American Jazz I’d heard, strongly Despite Abdullah’s preferred billing the quintet functions as a
cooperative. Nontheless, a couple of tracks bear the same
South African influences; Canto II (with chanting voices) and Abdullah’s
Khaluma have the charming harmonic and melodic simplicity of township
Jazz. Like some of Pukwana’s themes they sound as if the band could
repeat them all day with only minor embellishments, without wearing the
melodies out; this is quintessential hook music. The blend of vocally-oriented
horns is plainly fetching (like the Abdullah-Charles Brackeen mix on Liquid
Magic)." "Ironically, it is Ahmed Abdullah, who probably couldn't get five minutes
of the big boys time, who is extending the tradition of Navarro, Brown,
Morgan and Hubbard in an adventurous and accessible manner on the impressive
debut of the Solomonic Quintet. Abdullah's approach to album
programming is solid. -- a mixture of refreshing Third World materials
and neo-in-the-pocket-grooves with a dash of Ornette via the infectious
drumming of Charles Moffett. His choice of personnel is nothing short
of impeccable: Rock of Gibralter bassist Fred Hopkins. David S. Ware,
a tough tenor for today and Masujaa, a tasteful electric guitarist, round
out this driving band. If times were really changing the American majors
would give Ahmed Abdullah a shot." "Diaspora is a group Ahmed created after Charles Moffett left the planet. "Charles was a very good friend and mentor and he was the bed rock of the Solomonic Unit (quartet, quintet, sextet, and septet). I formed the Solomonic with him in mind and kept it for close to ten years." When Charles left Ahmed talked to Bob Rusch at CIMP records about recording a cd dedicated to Mr. Moffett. The result was: Ahmed Abdullah's Diaspora Dedication (CIMP) This recording starts off on a happy note and keeps on going from there
in a pulsating jaunt through the music of various cultures that have a
common rhythmic thread. As the name of his group (Diaspora) implies, the
music is a dispersion of influences from multiple sources. Abdullah creates
a mood with his music and instrumentation that would have to affect all
listeners. I had the wonderful opportunity of seeing him perform with
the Sun Ra Arkestra in 1988 and the vision of this trumpeter parading
into the room with the master troubadour and his entourage is still with
me. The magic that was Ra and that affected all around him is evident
on this recording." "Ahmed Abdullah's various outlets, which include work with Ed Blackwell,
Arthur Blythe and Billy Bang, all have that certain swing--which only
a lifetime playing besides Sun Ra can give you. His Solomonic Quintet,
now renamed Diaspora in honor of his fellow longtime player
Charles Moffett, strolls down the boulevard like a sweet Sunday afternoon
in New Orleans. Masujaa's subtle guitar hangs by the side of Abdullah's
joyful and insistent trumpet. Carlos Ward's sax work carries an urgent
tone that pushes the whole quartet along. While his recording as a leader
are few, Abdullah can certainly handle the task." "The lasting influence of Sun Ra is infinite and it’s always a pleasure
to hear testimony from the relatively small number of his regular sideman
who are now leading their own group. The joy is particularly palatable
in the case of Abdullah whose bright brassy trumpet powered the Arkestra
brass-section on their cosmic flights of fancy for many years. Ahmed is
one of those musicians who effectively shaped the lesson he learned from
Ra during his stint with the band to his own devices coming up with a
truly original voice both on the instrument and in his compositional approach.
His NAM quartet is built around the common denominator of
Harding whose shared associations with the musicians originaly brought
the group together. The quartet elects a diverse songbook of tunes for
the date that draw on Jazz tradition and on South African musical styles
which have long been a source of erudition for Abdullah." "Trumpeter Ahmed Abdullah has a sort of underground cult following, stemming
in part from infrequent recordings. This is
only his seventh recording, and it is with a group he calls NAM,
which consists of the blues-drenched baritone saxophonist Alex Harding
plus the truncated rhythm section of bassist Masa Kamaguchi and drummer
Jimmy Weinstein. Abdullah is not so much a radical interpreter as an individualist
with an old-time approach to the trumpet applied to modern harmonics.
He growls, “gets down,” and often sticks to a blues aesthetic,
yet he also incorporates a style that hearkens to early Ornette. The choice
of tunes is varied: an obscure Sun Ra tune, Coltrane’s Naima, Gunter
Hampel’s Seranade to Marion Brown, and several pieces written or
arranged by Harding or Abdullah. Much of the cd amounts to almost a highly
effective blowing session, with the horns taking lengthy; solos."
Further reviews & information on the latest NAM CD, Song of Time, Live At the Vision Festival: |
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