The Basement Rug

I am working on some CD and MP3 compilations that I will share with friends and family over the holidays. Some of these compilations will likely get posted here at some point if I find the time.

In my research process I stumbled upon another great music blog (there are new ones every day now) called Nothing is v2.0, which “specializes primarily in the jazz underground.”

I found some of the “lost” Babatunde Olatunji albums I had been looking for. I say “lost” because the All Music Guide (AMG) lists the world famous Drums of Passion (1959) as never being out of print, but there is no listing for Zungo! (1961) or the incredible Flaming Drums (1962) and Soul Makossa (1973) is hidden away here. The Zungo! album still eludes me, so if you know where I can find a download, please post a comment here.

Despite his international fame, Olatunji remains on the margins - even in those few remaining independent records stores. I highly recommend grabbing anything you can find by him.

If you like African drumming, be sure to check out my post on Ade Bashorun.

You can listen to Olatunji’s “Hail the King” (from the Flaming Drums LP) in the player below:

Biographical information below is from wikipedia:

Olatunji was born in the village of Ajido, a small town near Badagry, Lagos State, in southwestern Nigeria. A member of the Yoruba people, Olatunji was introduced to traditional African music at an early age. He read in Reader’s Digest magazine about the Rotary International Foundation’s scholarship program, and applied for it. He came to the United States of America in 1950.

Education

Olatunji received a Rotary scholarship in 1950 and was educated at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. After graduating from Morehouse, he went on to New York University to study public administration. There, he started a small percussion group to earn money on the side while he continued his studies.

Musical career

Olatunji won a following among jazz musicians, notably creating a strong relationship with John Coltrane and Columbia Records A&R man John Hammond who signed him to the Columbia label in 1957. With Coltrane’s help, he founded the Olatunji Center for African Culture in Harlem. This was the site of Coltrane’s final performance.

In 1959 Olatunji released his first of six records on the Columbia label, called Drums of Passion. In 1969, Carlos Santana had a major hit with his cover version of this first album’s “Jin-go-lo-ba,” which Santana recorded on his debut album, Santana, as “Jingo.” Olatunji favoured a big percussion sound, and his records typically featured more than 20 players, unusual for a percussion based ensemble. Drums of Passion became a major hit and remains in print; it introduced many Americans to world music. Drums of Passion also served as the band’s name. Notable band members included; Clark Terry, Bill Lee, Horace Silver, Yusef Lateef, Sikiru Adepoju and Charles Lloyd, among others.

Olatunji’s subsequent recordings include Drums of Passion: The Invocation (1988), Drums of Passion: The Beat (1989) (which included Airto Moreira and Carlos Santana), Love Drum Talk (1997), Circle of Drums (2005) (originally titled Cosmic Rhythm Vibrations, with Muruga Booker and Sikiru Adepoju), and Olatunji Live at Starwood (2003 – recorded at the 1997 Starwood Festival) with guest Halim El-Dabh. He also contributed to “Peace Is The World Smiling: A Peace Anthology For Families” on the Music For Little People label (1989).

Olatunji recorded with many other prominent musicians, including Cannonball Adderley (on his African Waltz album), Horace Silver, Quincy Jones, Pee Wee Ellis, Stevie Wonder, Randy Weston, and with Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln on the pivotal Freedom Now Suite aka We Insist, and with Grateful Dead member Mickey Hart on his Grammy winning Planet Drum projects. He is also mentioned in the lyrics of Bob Dylan’s “I Shall Be Free” as recorded on the album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan.

Film and theatre

Olatunji composed music for the Broadway theatrical and Hollywood film productions of Raisin in the Sun. He assisted Bill Lee with the music for his son Spike Lee’s hit film She’s Gotta Have It.

Social activism

Olatunji was known for making an impassioned speech for social justice before performing in front of a live audience. His progressive political beliefs are outlined in The Beat Of My Drum: An Autobiography, with a foreword by Joan Baez, (Temple University Press, 2005). He toured the American south with Rev. Martin Luther King Jr and joined King in the march on Washington. When he performed before the United Nations General Assembly, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev took off his shoes and danced. Later, he was one of the first outside performers to perform in Prague at Václav Havel’s request. On July 21, 1979, he appeared at the Amandla Festival along with Bob Marley, Dick Gregory, Patti LaBelle and Eddie Palmieri, amongst others.

Teaching career

Olatunji was also a music educator, and invented a method of teaching and recording drum patterns which he called the “Gun-Dun, Go-Do, Pa-Ta” method after the different sounds made on the drum.

Olatunji taught drum and dance workshops year-round starting in the late 1950s. Over the years he presented workshops nationally and internationally at too many colleges, universities, civic, cultural and governmental organizations to list here.

He co-wrote, Musical Instruments of Africa: Their Nature, Use and Place in the Life of a Deeply Musical People with Betty Warner-Dietz (John Day Company, 1965). He taught a summer drumming and African dance course with his wife, at the Omega institute in Rhinebeck, NY (Omega Institute) for many summers during Family week. He also taught at the Esalen Institute in California from 1985 until shortly before his death from diabetes in 2003, on the day before his 76th birthday.

The koto is a traditional Japanese 13-string musical instrument derived from the Chinese zither (Guzheng) and was first introduced to Japan in the 7th and 8th century. The earliest form of the instrument dates back to the 5th century. The strings are laid over 13 movable bridges along the length of the instrument. Players can adjust the string pitches by moving these bridges before playing, and use three finger picks (on thumb, forefinger, and middle finger) to pluck the strings. The modern koto originates from the so, or gakuso, and is the national instrument of Japan. It is used in Japanese court music. More details can be found on wikipedia.org.

Track Listing:

1) Rokudan (7:11)
2) Midre (8:14)
3) Godan - Kinuta (10:36)
4) Chidori (11:18)
5) Haru-No-Kyoku (10:19)

Rabih Abou-Khalil is the Paco De Lucia of the Oud! His music is both hypnotic and intense, taking you on an all-absorbing journey you wish you didn’t have to return from. But while he can play blistering fast, he tends to reserve his outbursts for just the right moment, concentrating more on creating an unbelieveable journey that is accompanied by master percussionists and world-renowned musicians of all kinds. Listen to Arabian Waltz in the player below.

Tarab (1993) is the only Rabih Abou-Khalil album I have in my collection, but that will soon change, as I just found 13 other Khalil albums on the Silkroad blog which I have archived here.

Track Listing:

1) Bushman in the Desert
2) After Dinner
3) Awakening
4) Haneen Wa Haneen
5) Lost Centuries
6) In Search of the Well
7) Orange Fields
8) A Tooth Lost
9) Arabian Waltz

Biography from Wikipedia.org:

Rabih Abou-Khalil was born 17 August 1957 in Lebanon. He grew up in Beirut and moved to Munich, Germany during the civil war in 1978. He lives partly in Munich and partly in the South of France.

From early on, he learnt to play the oud, a fretless string instrument, similar to the European lute. He studied in the Beirut conservatory from oud virtuoso Georges Farah. After moving to Germany, he studied classical flute at the Academy of Music in Munich under Walther Theurer.

He has often blended traditional Arab music with jazz, rock and classical music, and has earned praise such as “a world musician years before the phrase became a label — makes the hot, staccato Middle Eastern flavour and the seamless grooves of jazz mingle as if they were always meant to.” Together with Anouar Brahem he has helped highlight the oud as a vehicle of eclectic “world jazz”. Abou-Khalil’s oud playing style has often been likened to jazz guitar: “Abou-Khalil spins more oud notes in 10 seconds than most jazz guitarists do in their short commercial lifespans.”

Abou-Khalil’s music uses elements from Arab music traditions, together with many jazz, rock and classical references, particularly to the school of Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry, which itself broke ground in terms of introducing new global influences. Other influences include Frank Zappa, Bela Bartok, and such unexpected musicians like the Mighty Sparrow and Lord Kitchener from Trinidad. Jazz elements are present in most of his recorded work, for instance in the use of the acoustic pizzicato bass, generally played by recognized jazz musicians like Steve Swallow and Glen Moore. At the Beijing Jazz Festival of 2003 he performed to great acclaim accompanied by tuba and clarinet as well as the percussion he has always favoured.

Karuna Supreme is just one of many great indo-jazz fusion albums out there. Originally released on the MPS label on 1 November 1975, I believe it is now out of print.

Track Listing:

1) Ganesha’s Jubilee Dance (9:19)
2) Karuna Supreme (11:06)
3) The Soul and the Atma (20:44)

Review by Sean Westergaard, All Music Guide:

Karuna Supreme, recorded in 1975, is one of the earliest true fusions of Indian music and jazz, and remains one of the most successful. John Handy’s incredible mid-’60s quintet ably demonstrated his aptitude for modal playing, and Ali Akbar Khan had long been one of Indian music’s greatest ambassadors. Like Khan, Zakir Hussain was also the son of one of India’s finest musicians, and had been exposed to jazz as well from an early age (his father, Alla Rakha, recorded with Buddy Rich in addition to his long association with Ravi Shankar). The way these players find the common musical ground from their respective backgrounds is breathtaking. The album starts with the lively “Ganesha’s Jubilee Dance,” which has a simple but unforgettable melody that Handy and Khan use as a springboard for some amazing soloing. Handy’s improvisations are melodic and effortless, and some of the rhythmic flourishes supplied by Ali Akbar Khan are incredible. Zakir Hussain is equally stunning, reacting instantly to whatever the soloist is doing, offering both support and drive to the piece. The title cut is slower and more contemplative, but no less beautiful, and a nice complement to the animated “Ganesha’s Jubilee Dance.” “The Soul and the Atma” is a bit more reminiscent of Indian classical music, with its alap-like introduction, but once the tabla kicks in, the structure opens up for more amazing improvising. It starts kind of slowly, but gradually builds intensity over the course of its 20-plus minutes. The level of communication among the players throughout this session would be difficult to surpass. This is one of those rare East-meets-West recordings that absolutely succeeds at every level. Highly recommended.

In India, when two vocalists join forces, or when two instrumentalists perform together, either on the same or different instruments, the joint venture is called Jugalbundi (the Hindi word for duet). These duets began mainly through students. Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan were both students of the legendary Baba Allauddin Khan, a Bengali Indian sarod player and multi-instrumentalist and one of the greatest music teachers of the 20th Century, father of Ali Akbar Khan and Annapurna Devi and guru to Ravi Shankar, Nikhil Banerjee, Vasant Rai, Pannalal Ghosh, and other influential musicians. He himself was a disciple of many great musicians, most importantly the legendary Wazir Khan. This concert was dedicated to the memory of the Baba. Many thanks to my friend Stefen for lending me this great double-LP!

Track Listing:

1) Raga: Hem Bihag (25:19)
2) Raga: Manj Khamaj (50:57)
3) Raga: Sindhi Bhairavi (26:16)

I have re-posted this download due to a missing file. Let me know if you have any troubles this time.

This is the first in a series of eastern-themed offerings coming up over the next few weeks. You can download a live performance of Pandit Kamalesh Maitra in my previous post.

Pandit Kamelesh Maitra is the last master of the tabla tarang, a melodic instrument consisting of between ten to sixteen tuned tabla. Tarang means “waves” and aptly describes how rhythm and melody, even harmony, are woven into one flowing element. Trilok Gurtu, known for his eclectic percussion artistry in the jazz world, accompanies on tabla. These four early morning todi create a mood of quietness and devotion: a unique audiophile CD with a richly illustrated 56-page booklet. 76 minutes. “A historic world music milestone.” — Option Magazine

Track Listing:

1) Raag Deen Todi
2) Raag Bilaskhani Todi
3) Raag Bhupal Todi
4) Raag Mia Ki Todi

This rare private press record was recorded June 1984 at Magic Sound Studios, Santa Cruz, California. Engineered and mixed by Peter White. Executive producer - Atilla The Hen. The details below were taken from the back cover.This album is well recorded and features a fusion of Middle Eastern rhythms with music from around the world that is guarranteed to please. You can listen to Fakarouni in the player below:

Track Listing:

1) Alim (Turkish) - 4:40
2) Gole Sangiam (Persian) - 4:00
3) Om’r (Persian 6/8) - 5:35
4) Afgani Song (dedicated to the Freedom Fighters) - 4:00
5) Playa Colorada (Venezuelan) - 2:35
6) Estrella (Spanish) E. Marante - 7:00
7) Fakarouni (Egyptian) M. Abdl Wahab - 6:10
8) Taxim Saz - Suliman - 3:00
9) Baburi “The Little Train” (Arabian) Drum Solo, Finale - 5:50

Musicians:

• Suliman El Coyote - Oud, Vocals, Bass, Saz, Violin, Santur, Clarinet, Keyboard, Zills, Zapateo
• Armando El Mafufo - Drbuka, Def, Maracas, Zills, Timbales, Birimbao, Bell, Vocals, E Drum
• Hanya Anda Luce - Tambourine
• Isabel Tercero - Vocal on Estrella
• A. Ishmael - Kanoon on Alim and Playa Colorada