19/10/2007

Ahmed Abdul-Malik - East Meets West (1959)

«The late Ahmed Abdul-Malik was one of the first musicians to integrate non-Western musical elements into jazz. Best known to jazz listeners as a bassist with Thelonious Monk, Randy Weston, Coleman Hawkins, and many others, he made a few records as a leader, with this one being his most exotic and also the hardest to find. The Brooklyn native was of Sudanese descent; in addition to playing bass on this interesting blend of Middle Eastern instruments with those from the world of jazz, he also plays oud, the forerunner to the lute. The musicians on Malik's eight originals vary from track to track. On the mournful "La Ibky (Don't Cry)," Malik's oud shares the spotlight with a tenor sax (either Benny Golson or Johnny Griffin) plus trumpeter Lee Morgan. "Rooh (The Soul)" features the 72-string kanoon (which is sort of a brittle sounding and much smaller harp) played by Ahmed Yetman, along with Malik's arco bass and the droning violin of Naim Karacand. The Middle Eastern instruments are absent during "Searchin'," which is sort of a hard bop vehicle featuring trombonist Curtis Fuller and Jerome Richardson on flute, along with the tenor sax. "Takseem (Solo)" omits the jazz instruments; the slowness of the variations of the music and rather piercing vocal make it harder for Western ears to comprehend. Not a release of interest to everyone but, for the most part, this fusion of vastly different styles of music is quite enjoyable; it's obvious from the start that the musicians were enjoying themselves as it was recorded. This long out print LP will be difficult to locate.» (AMG)

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11 comments:

DJ Radu said...

http://sharebee.com/9309369a

Anonymous said...

i really like abdul-malik, but i've not heard this, yet! this was released on rca's living stero series? i find it a bit odd, thinking of what everything they released on it...

thanks for sharing this, radu!!

Anonymous said...

"he also plays oud, the forerunner to the lute"

Sorry, but that's like saying the Arabian horse is forerunner to the Mercedes car.

Thanks anyway.

DJ Radu said...

Sorry to contraddict you, bruis, but the oud actually was the forerunner to the lute. If you don't believe me or the reviewer, please check any encyclopedia:)

Cheers,
Radu

Anonymous said...

"the Arabian horse is forerunner to the Mercedes car"

I second that! ;)

DJ Radu said...

I agree.
And 20 miles per liter (of water), cheaper than any Mercedes:)

Anonymous said...

Thanks a million. I had a copy of this gem on vinyl and it took a walk, hopefully to loving family... For those that don't know the romanization of the Arabic words is kind of weird here. Qanun is not a harp but but dulcimer played with finger picks, not hammers. Taqsim means, basically, improvisation based on maqam...I haven't listened to it yet, and haven't heard it for years, but seem to recall that this taqsim also includes a muwashah or layali, some vocal improv too. And Johnny Griffin...damn! Thanks a million.

Kevin said...

Abdul Malik out-of-print stuff is great to find. Thanks for sharing this. I will let you know what I think after the file downloads.

Best, Kevin

Anonymous said...

Thank you =) I used to have this.--JDT

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AFOFOROMUSICCLUB said...

incredibly beautiful and precious!
thank you very much!