Kahil El'Zabar.
Open Me, A Higher Consciousness of Sound and Spirit.
Spiritmuse Records, 2023
By Jeff Cebulski | ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Kahil El’Zabar, multi-percussion, voice
Corey Wilkes, trumpet and percussion
Alex Harding, baritone saxophone
Featuring
James Sanders, violin, viola
Ishmael Ali, cello
For all of his avant-garde identity, the drummer and percussionist Kahil El’Zabar has always driven a complementarian road that makes his melding of Africa and America accessible to jazz fans. For 50 years, El’Zabar and his Ethnic Heritage Ensemble have created a bridge between the two continents meant to weave the roots of jazz and blues with contemporary sounds as a vehicle for what the liner notes call a “pluriversal pursuit in human potential.” A celebration of the group’s 50th anniversary, the new album Open Me, A Higher Consciousness of Sound & Spirit is a representation of the ensemble’s history mixed with a new approach to arrangement signified by the addition of strings, thus marking a continuing spiritual evolution and investigation.
One of the percussionist’s great gifts is arrangement of spare parts into a resounding whole. These days the Ensemble consists of El’Zabar, Corey Wilkes (trumpet and percussion) and Alex Harding (baritone sax). Even without added instruments, the band fills space admirably as the leader uses his percussion skills to build a platform for his mates to create and for listeners to investigate.
Two examples of that bridging occur on “The Whole World” and “Compared to What,” songs that typify the polarities of African-American expression. The first is a reconstructed “He’s Got the Whole World In His Hands,” which El’Zabar narrates out of its gospel sway and into an African griot refrain powered by a funky band backup. On Eugene McDaniel’s classic “Compared,” El’Zabar borrows from both McDaniel and Les McCann in his painstaking, matter-of-fact delivery, initiated by his kalimba and supported by Harding’s husky baritone and Wilkes’ bluesy, Dizzy-like commentary.
The depth of the Ensemble’s palette is reflected in the album’s middle portion, with four El’Zabar previously recorded compositions encompassing a significant breadth of Black music. “Return of the Lost Tribe” retains its deep blues beat as it melds El’Zabar’s work alongside violinist Billy Bang with other ensembles. ”Hang Tuff,” an early-ensemble recording, sounds like Diz and Bird playing in West Africa. The solemn “Can You Find a Place,” from the Ensemble’s Black Is Back 40th Anniversary album, seems more poignant, making this piece a standout. “Great Black Music,” an El’Zabar composition first recorded by the Art Ensemble of Chicago in 1978, has the leader’s kalimba setting the thoroughly African-paced performance that brings New Orleans blues along for the ride.
Longtime listeners will probably hear “more of the same” in this representative tribute. Yet, given Kahil El’Zabar’s penchant for inquisitive restlessness, Open Me is also “not quite the same.”
Kahil El’Zabar, multi-percussion, voice
Corey Wilkes, trumpet and percussion
Alex Harding, baritone saxophone
Featuring
James Sanders, violin, viola
Ishmael Ali, cello
About Jeff Cebulski
Jeff Cebulski, who lives in Chicago, is a retired English educator (both secondary and collegiate) and longtime jazz aficionado. His career in jazz includes radio programs at two stations in southeast Wisconsin, an online show on Kennesaw State’s (GA) Owl Radio from 2007 until 2015, and review/feature writing for Chicago Jazz Magazine since 2016, including his column "Jazz With Mr. C". He has interviewed many jazz artists, including Joshua Redman, Charles Lloyd, Dave Holland, John Beasley, and Chris Brubeck, as well as several Chicago-based players. Jeff is a member of the Jazz Journalists Association. Contact Jeff at jeff@chicagojazz.com