Rashied Ali
Appearances
Regardless of one's own musical standpoints or of the particular cosmology of one's beliefs, this is Devotional music of the highest level, as it must be - majestic, serene, sublime, a richly-woven tapestry in sound; music of unsurpassable breadth and beauty to be heard as long as men with souls live.
Recorded between April and June of 1971, Alice Coltrane's Universal Consciousness stands as her classic work. As a testament to the articulation of her spiritual [more]
This CD reissues what was arguably the finest of the John Coltrane-Pharoah Sanders collaborations. On five diverse but almost consistently intense movements ("The Father and the Son [more]
Tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp's third release for the Impulse label collects valuable loose ends recorded between March and August 1965. Among the highlights are a passionate reading [more]
Soul Jazz has done it again. This two-disc, 16-track overview of the "New Thing" -- vanguard jazz in the period that began after the deaths of Martin Luther King, Jr. and John Coltrane [more]
Packaged together in this five-disc box set as part of Verve's excellent Originals series, these titles represent a little over half of the studio sides that John Coltrane and [more]
Hal Galper's recordings always have an adventurous spirit, and the live CD Art-Work is no exception. The veteran pianist, joined by bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Rashid Ali (both [more]
Bassist Joris Teepe's approach to a modern big-band sound is based on heavily laden notes with layered charts that jump up before you and scream -- pay attention! They [more]
Biography
- Born Jul 1st 1935 in Philadelphia, PA
- Died Aug 12th 2009 in New York, NY
The task of following Elvin Jones as drummer with John Coltrane must have been one of the most daunting situations ever entered into by a jazz musician. In the mid-'60s, most jazz listeners would have assumed that Jones was the only drummer alive who possessed the requisite imagination, intensity, and powerful sense of swing necessary to drive Coltrane's passions. As it turned out, even Elvin had limitations, and since Coltrane was all about transcending limitations, it seems proper that he would complement Jones' polymetric intractability with the addition of Rashied Ali's skittish, asymmetrical flexibility. The two drummers shared the bandstand briefly, before Jones, reportedly disgusted, left the band. It's not difficult to understand why the pairing proved ill-fated. Jones was an innovator, but he was bound to tradition -- specifically, the tradition of ground-beat swing. He was the last stage in the evolution of the drummer-as-timekeeper; he reiterated swing's primal importance, even as he extended the drummer's role in terms of interaction with the ensemble. For his part, Ali almost completely abandoned a steady pulse, adopting instead a rhythmically irregular, textural, hyperactive approach that propelled the music in a manner at odds with Jones' more literal style. The addition of Ali and the departure of Jones marked Coltrane's last and most extreme step away from the jazz tradition. The removal of a steady beat, and the multitude of implied meters set by Ali and bassist Jimmy Garrison freed Coltrane to an unprecedented extent. Indeed, it was with the addition of Ali to his group that Coltrane's free jazz period truly began.
Ali studied at Philadelphia's Granoff School of Music. He gained early experience with local jazz and R&B bands around Philadelphia. In 1963, he toured Japan with Sonny Rollins, before moving to New York, where he became involved in the free jazz scene there. Associations with Pharoah Sanders, Albert Ayler, Bill Dixon, and Sunny Murray preceded his tenure with Coltrane, which began in 1965 and lasted until the latter's death in 1967. For a time, Ali continued playing with pianist Alice Coltrane, before going off on his own as a bandleader and musical organizer. In 1972, he helped coordinate the New York Musicians Festival. The next year, he formed his own record label, Survival, and opened his own performance venue, Ali's Alley, a New York City loft space that presented free jazz performances until the summer of 1979. In the '80s and '90s, his presence on the scene was sporadic; he performed on occasion with saxophonist Makanda Ken McIntyre, and recorded with multi-instrumentalist Zusaan Kali Fasteau and tenor saxophonist David Murray. In 1987 he recorded as a member of the group Phalanx, with guitarist James "Blood" Ulmer, tenor saxophonist George Adams, and bassist Sirone. In 1991, he made the critically acclaimed album Touchin' on Trane with bassist William Parker and tenor saxophonist Charles Gayle. The '90s found Ali at the helm of the band Prima Materia (initially co-led with Parker), an ensemble dedicated to interpreting the late works of Coltrane and Albert Ayler. ~ Chris Kelsey, All Music Guide
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