Remembering multi-instrumentalist Derf Reklaw on his birthday

Remembering flautist/percussionist & educator Derf Reklaw with a few performances and recordings worth checking.  

LINKS

Derf Reklaw site

CKCU-FM In Memorium: Derf Reklaw

Ubiquity – Archive Releases Derf Reklaw's From The Nile

New Dawn Build An Ark's Revision (An Anthology)

Dwight Trible joins Kahil El'Zabar's EHE for 'Spirit Gatherer' salute to Don Cherry

Kahil El'Zabar's "Spirit Gatherer" tribute to forward-looking trumpeter and bandleader Don Cherry is out now via Spiritmuse.

Here's the scoop...

Visionary percussionist and veteran bandleader Kahil El’Zabar leads his Ethnic Heritage Ensemble in celebration of the legendary jazz pioneer Don Cherry and releases new album Spirit Gatherer and previews the first track ‘Don Cherry’. The fifth of a series of Spiritmuse recordings that began with 2019’s Be Known: Ancient/Future Music [Spiritmuse KEZ001], Spirit Gatherer finds the three-person Ethnic Heritage Ensemble joined by two storied guest artists: Dwight Trible, vocalist with the Pan-Afrikan Peoples Arkestra, and multi-instrumentalist David Ornette Cherry, Don Cherry’s eldest son. Performed by a group of artists who intimately understand the profundity of Don Cherry’s contribution to universal musical and artistic culture, Spirit Gatherer is a powerful, spiritualised tribute to one of the giants of twentieth century music. 

Don Cherry was a true original. A pioneer of the jazz avant-garde, he first emerged as part of the Ornette Coleman group. After quickly establishing himself as a key figure in America, he eventually relocated to Europe, where he moved beyond jazz to pursue a universal spirit music. Cherry’s quest was spiritual, musical, social and political – open-hearted and profoundly humane, his life and art were dedicated to beauty and the betterment of all humanity. His music carries a crucial message for today, and Kahil El’Zabar and the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble dedicate their new album Spirit Gatherer to him, both to honour his legacy and highlight his ever-growing importance. 

‘Don Cherry is the essential, iconic, urban shaman,’ says Kahil El’Zabar. ‘After doing America the Beautiful [Spiritmuse KEZ005] and speaking to the political, social times; and then believing that there has to be resolution, that's why there was A Time for Healing [Spiritmuse KEZ007]. Then after the time for healing, you have to acknowledge the mentors that actually expressed that healing, so that we can figure out better ways to use it. And I couldn't find a better example for now than Don Cherry to amplify that. And so that's why we call him the Spirit Gatherer, which is the name of the album.’ 

A legendary figure with over fifty years experience in jazz and improvised music (including a decade as the chair of Chicago avant-garde collective the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians), El’Zabar brings a powerful heritage and a wealth of experience to his art, directing the songs on Spirit Gatherer with kalimba, voice, or cajon. ‘Don Cherry was griot of the community,’ he says, and this deeply spiritual and shamanic aspect of aspect of Cherry’s practice is echoed in El’Zabar’s own musical journey. ‘The whole key to the story is learn to own your voice. But first, you have to have the grace of history to inform you as you translate it into your individual idea… The was the journey of Don Cherry, and that’s a parallel in terms of my life choices – his model of eclecticism, his model of independence and individuality, his sense of style, his lyrical expressions of being: these were all things that I tried to emulate in my own character.’ 

For El’Zabar and the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, Cherry’s message has a particular resonance in our troubled times: ‘Against the atrocities of current day, the way that we saved ourselves is that we all went to our spirit at this time, and the arts were the conduit to the opening of our health, our wellness as human beings. And so we're all feeling a vibe now. It’s not just about the aesthetics of the music – it's about the utility of service that the music brings to you. And that's why Don Cherry is resonating with the current generation, because he was true to that energy.’ 

As well as several originals by the leader, the songs selected for Spirit Gatherer draw their power from Don Cherry’s legacy, and reach out the spiritualised milieu in which he worked and lived. The music calls forth the sanctified universal folklore of Cherry’s music and refracts it through the firmly rooted Africentric modal grooves now synonymous with El’Zabar’s art. Cherry’s first great collaborator, Ornette Coleman, is represented by his deathless composition ‘Lonely Woman’; in tribute to Cherry’s favourite composer, Thelonious Monk, the band tackle ‘Well You Needn’t’ with a low-key, funked-up read; and Coltrane, with whom Cherry collaborated at various times, is evoked through a musical prayer to A Love Supreme. 

As ever, El’Zabar leads the album on multi-percussion, steering the group and setting the pace with his trademark combination of peerless rhythmic invention, melodic subtlety and grounded spiritual direction. Support from regular frontline collaborators Corey Wilkes on trumpet and Alex Harding on baritone sax builds out the sound, with Wilkes channelling the quicksilver improvising brilliance of Cherry himself while Harding embarks on deep-rooted thematic investigations. But Spirit Gatherer is lifted even higher by the presence of two illustrious guests: Dwight Trible and David Ornette Cherry. 

Don Cherry’s eldest son, the multi-instrumentalist, educator and composer David Ornette Cherry, has an intimate familial understanding of his father’s musical philosophy. He played with Don from the age of sixteen, and has collaborated with many jazz greats including Billy Higgins, Charlie Haden and Ed Blackwell. His latest album, Organic Nation Listening Club (The Continual), was released on Spiritmuse in 2021, to critical acclaim. On Spirit Gatherer, he adds spiritual warmth and energy on piano and melodica, and invokes the instantly recognisable language of his father’s music when playing douss’n’gouni, the West African hunter’s harp. 

Vocalist Dwight Trible is a key figure in Los Angeles renowned community jazz collective, the Pan Afrikan Peoples’ Arkestra. Founded by Horace Tapscott, the Ark has been the seed-bed for three generations of Los Angeles jazz musicians, and it grew out of the same Central Avenue soil that Don Cherry himself was rooted in. Trible, a vocalist who combines both operatic power with deepest blue jazz sensibility, brings electrifying presence and lyrical richness to the session. 

In this exalted company the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble’s sonic odyssey goes from strength to strength, opening up new spaces of healing in our present tribulation, new connections to the wisdom of the ancestors, and new vistas onto mended futures. We hope that you enjoy the journey of the Spirit Gatherer. 

As on previous Spiritmuse albums from El’Zabar, stunning original album artwork by multi-disciplinary artist Nep Sidhu accompanies the music. The album is presented with archive images of Don Cherry, courtesy of the Cherry Archive, Estate of Moki Cherry. 

Get a copy of the Spirit Gatherer: Tribute To Don Cherry album by Kahil El'Zabar's Ethnic Heritage Ensemble via Bandcamp right here. Check out the title track and an interpretation of Pharoah Sanders' "Harvest Time" followed by the track listing and credits. 

Kahil El'Zabar's Ethnic Heritage Ensemble – Spirit Gatherer: Tribute to Don Cherry

1. Don Cherry, composed by Kahil El’Zabar 

2. Lonely Woman, composed by Ornette Coleman * 

3. Evocation, composed by Kahil El’Zabar 

4. Degi-Degi, composed by Don Cherry * 

5. Sketches of a Love Supreme, based on the original composition by John Coltrane * 

6. Bop On, composed by Kahil El’Zabar 

7. Holy Man, composed by Kahil El’Zabar 

8. Well You Needn't, composed by Thelonious Monk * 

9. The Opening, composed by Kahil El’Zabar 

10. Harvest Time, composed by Pharoah Sanders * 

11. Spirit Gatherer, composed by Kahil El’Zabar 

Kahil El’Zabar – multi-percussion / balafon / kalimba / voice 

Corey Wilkes – trumpet/ spirit bowls/ percussion 

Alex Harding – baritone sax 

Dwight Trible – voice 

David Ornette Cherry – piano / melodica / douss’n gouni 

Except Tracks 3, 8 & 9, with the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble only 

Kahil El’Zabar – multi-percussion / balafon / kalimba / voice 

Corey Wilkes – trumpet/ spirit bowls/ percussion 

Alex Harding – baritone sax

Mark de Clive-Lowe explores the music of Pharoah Sanders on Freedom

Mark de Clive-Lowe enlisted saxophonist Teodross Avery, percussionist Carlos Niño and singer Dwight Trible for the Freedom live tribute to Pharoah. 

Here's the scoop...

Electronic jazz pioneer, pianist, producer, remixer Mark de Clive-Lowe has an envious reputation as a cross genre creative artist who blends acoustic, electronic and world music exploring themes of belonging and identity. Equal parts jazz, house, hip hop and broken beat artist, Jazziz summed him up perfectly - "way before jazz hybridity became a worldwide phenomenon, de Clive-Lowe was busy designing its blueprint.” 

Freedom is a live concert recording made at the Blue Whale, Los Angeles - where Mark put together a Los Angeles based collective consisting of some of the best talents around: Teodross Avery – saxophone, Corbin Jones - bass, souzaphone drummer Tommaso Cappellato, Carlos Niño – percussion and the highly renowned spiritual jazz vocalist Dwight Trible. 

Reinterpreting a set of Pharoah Sanders highly respected music is not for the creatively timid, and Mark himself sets out the approach and philosophy this collective took when approaching this project: “This album is a celebration of the music, joy and spirit that the great master-teacher Pharoah Sanders brings to the world through his lifelong creative journey. We gathered at Los Angeles’ Blue Whale jazz club to perform some of our favourite Pharoah compositions from a place of love, respect and gratitude for all the inspiration he’s brought to each of us. No one can play this music how Pharoah plays it - his expression is unique and imprinted on every one of his compositions in the deepest of ways. We can’t possibly improve on his mastery and share this music simply as a heartfelt thank you to Pharoah - we celebrate you, and are so grateful for all the timeless - and timely - music you have gifted to the world”. 

Across this 12 track album the unique approach of improvised jazz is embellished with MdCL’s tasteful and subtle touches of electronica played & triggered – from behind his array of equipment he reinvigorates and energises the music with a deft and tasteful approach. The interplay between the musicians including vocalist Dwight Trible is flawless and more akin to a extensively rehearsed studio recording than a live concert, such are the skills of all the players. 

The highlights are many and varied, from the delicate, sensitive 'Mansions World' and 'Astral Travelling' to the intense and rhythmically driven tracks 'Ore-Se-Rere' and Teodross Avery’s spine tingling saxophone clarion call that opens the ever green 'You’ve Got To Have Freedom' is a beautiful tribute from one generation of master musicians to Pharoah – one of the greatest ever. 

Get a copy of Freedom via Bandcamp right here. Check out a few tracks below. 

If you happen to be in L.A. this weekend, check out the Freedom album launch at 2220 Arts. Get tickets right here. 

Credits:

Mark de Clive-Lowe - piano, rhodes, keyboards, live effects 

Dwight Trible - vocals 

Teodross Avery - saxophone 

Corbin Jones - bass, souzaphone 

Tommaso Cappellato - drums 

Carlos Niño - percussion 

Happy Birthday Dwight Trible!

Celebrating Dwight's birthday with his version of "You've Got To Have Freedom" with Matthew Halsall's Gondwana Orchestra

LINKS 

Dwight Trible Bandcamp

What the world needs now is more Dwight Trible

Check out Dwight Trible's Inspirations album recorded in collaboration with UK jazz trumpeter Matthew Halsall in 2017.

Happy Birthday Dwight Trible!

Celebrating Dwight Trible's birthday with a great versions of Horace Tapscott's "Mothership" and Donny Hathaway's "Tryin' Times"

Get a copy of Dwight Trible's fantastic Mothership album via Bandcamp right here. 

Dwight Trible joins Derf Reklaw to create Cosmic Vibrations

Dwight Trible's ensemble Cosmic Vibrations are putting out their Pathways & Passages album on Friday. 

Here's the scoop...

On September 25, Spiritmuse is releasing Pathways & Passages, the debut album from Cosmic Vibrations, the LA-based ensemble led by acclaimed jazz vocalist Dwight Trible that defines spiritual jazz in the 21st century. A genre-defying amalgamation of divine vocals, soul-stirring jazz, healing poetry, with a rich tapestry of African, Mesoamerican and indigenous North American percussion and instrumentation, taking you on a cosmic journey of spiritual improvisation and beyond. 

Cosmic Vibrations is a supergroup of heavyweight musicians with a vast combined experience, an ensemble of 6 souls who approach improvisation full of spirit and without ego. Gathered for this very purpose by Dwight Trible, undoubtedly the most acclaimed and in-demand vocalist currently working in the realms of spiritual jazz, the band has been performing steadily over the last three years, building a reputation in LA and further afield for their electric, mesmerising performances. “Pathways & Passages” presents the first time that their transcendental sound has been recorded and publicly released. 

A show-stopping performer and artist, Dwight Trible has directed the legendary Horace Tapscott Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra, and performed alongside with the likes of Pharoah Sanders, J Dilla, Gary Bartz, Kamasi Washington, Kahil El’Zabar, Madlib, Charles Lloyd, Matthew Halsall, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Soil & “Pimp” Sessions, Mark de Clive-Lowe, and Carlos Niño. There is indeed no one today who better carries on the tradition of legendary jazz vocalists such as Terry Callier, Leon Thomas and Andy Bey, whilst carrying that torch forward and exploring brand new territory. Apart from his rich vocal tones, Trible is also heard on kalimba here. 

Improvisation forms the core of this record, but the rhythm, the groove is never absent. The poetry led “Nature’s Vision” sets the tone for the record’s journey, but it peaks on the group’s incredible rendition “Motherless Child”. A live favourite of Trible’s, this bluesy take rides heavy on Williams’ bass and enjoys the addition of guest Scott Fraser’s lap steel guitar. With his rich, emotive singing Trible takes full possession of the song. By the time the beautiful closing ballad, “Some Other Time” ends, the album has truly succeeded in transcending the listener from their earthly surroundings.

A genre-defying amalgam of divine vocals, intuitive improvisation and deeply spiritual music, on Trible’s voice soars among the nexus of winds & skins from an incredibly talented and “deeply rooted” group in complete brotherly connection with one another. If you are looking for genuine, soul-enriching spiritual jazz today, look no further than Pathways & Passages. 

Watch Cosmic Vibrations perform "Stay Strong Everybody" at the Mr. Musichead Gallery in West Hollywood right here and get a copy of Pathways & Passages over there. 

Check out the Cosmic Vibrations livestream on Friday at 11 pm Eastern. Get the details right here. 

Dwight Trible vs. Freddy Cole

Dwight Trible's epic version of "Brother, Where Are You?" is off his latest album, Mothership, out now on Gearbox Records. 

Dwight Trible revisits "Brother Where Are You?" on new Mothership album

"Brother Where Are You?" is off Dwight Trible's new album Mothership available right here.