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Coast-connected players—pianist Allan
Broadbent, drummer Peter Erskine, atlo saxophonist
John Handy, Bay Area-bred Joshua
Redman and Los Angeles Philharmonic jazz
advisor Christian McBride—kicked off the second
set. The band then aurally illustrated the
flow of words, sometimes in pat, generic ways,
from the spoken word contingent of McClure
(reading his “Mercedes Benz”), David Meltzer
(reading Allen Ginsberg’s “America” and his
poem about Lester Young’s later years) and
Exene Cervenka (from the band X, and a fine
poet herself). Cervenka made salty, wry music
of Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s timeless and pointed
50-year-old poem “I Am Waiting” (as in, “I am
waiting for the Age of Anxiety to drop dead”).
Kurt Elling arrived at the end of the program.
“Consider me your after-dinner mint,”
the singer joked. He deftly blended music and
texts, scatting in his way, and splitting the difference
between the contrasting mediums at
hand. He lent his sonorous tones to Jack
Kerouac’s “American Haiku” and “Charlie
Parker,” scatting in the cracks, glided into poetry
of Gregory Corso and William Burroughs,
and generally put some heat and words-tomusic
artistic savoir-faire back into the night.
—Josef Woodard
Henry Grimes
ABDUL SULAYMAN
Hometown Rashied Ali Tribute Features
Drummers, Reunions and Mixed Results
Family and friends of Rashied Ali honored his
memory on Oct. 25 at the Philadelphia Clef
Club. Their “Musical Tribute To Rashied Ali”
had an informal quality befitting a hometown
celebration. Acts culled largely from
Philadelphia’s music and performing arts scenes
paid tribute to Ali but often did not directly
reflect his music or legacy.
The Rashied Ali Band, which opened the
program, provided an exception. Ali recorded
the group during the last years of his life. Ali’s
brother, Muhammad Ali, subbed for the late
drummer, alongside tenor player Lawrence
Clark and pianist Greg Murphy. The trio performed
a spirited brand of free-jazz, highlighted
by Muhammad Ali’s strong solo.
Organizers devoted the meat of the program
to drummers, perhaps to a fault. More than 10
appeared in succession, and all but one performed
unaccompanied. In light of previous solo
turns by Ronnie Burrage and Cornell Rochester,
the performances became increasingly redundant.
But diminutive drummer Nazir Ebo, at 9
years old, demonstrated a surprising command
of the kit; he also excelled during a jam session
that followed the program (Ebo is the younger
brother of drummer Justin Faulkner, who has
received national exposure since joining
Branford Marsalis’ quartet).
Bassist Henry Grimes and pianist Dave
Burrell performed unaccompanied. Burrell’s
brief improvisation sounded unscripted and
undistinguished. Grimes played violin; the
music rambled and raised questions about his
technique on the instrument.
The concert’s highlight, by far, turned out to
be a group that featured former members of
Ornette Coleman’s electric band Prime Time.
The reunion included guitarist Charlee Ellerbe
and the tandem of bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma
and drummer Grant Calvin Weston, who enjoy
a following around Philadelphia. The group also
featured Rashied Ali’s son and brother, respectively
Amin Ali (electric bass) and Umar Ali
(conga). The group closed out the tribute with
Ellerbe’s untitled composition over a funky
vamp. Aside from Elliott Levin’s screechy tenor
saxophone, which detracted from the focus, the
high-energy performance suggested the group
has something to say.
—Eric Fine