[Ahmed] is Pat Thomas (piano), Antonin Gerbal (drums), Joel Grip (double bass), and Seymour Wright (alto saxophone), group jazz improvisation based on radical –– one may say minimalist –– repetition and syncopation. The model and impetus are the music and philosophy of Ahmed Abdul-Malik, a bassist for Monk among many others, and a composer and oudist whose innovations as a bandleader predated ‘world music’ intercultural experiments by decades. [Ahmed] is, at once, a rich (and richly conceptual) excavation of an under-sung master’s oeuvre, and one of the most hard-driving and swinging bands anywhere.
Thursday 14 September, 8pm • Studio Theatre, River Run Centre • $25/20 [buy tickets]
Hear [Ahmed], Nights on Saturn (Communication) here.
photo credit: Guy Bolongaro