RIP #IdrisMuhammad A true loss… I remember meeting Idris in the late 70s when he played with Johnny Griffin and was gracious enough to let me sit in. He was always an inspiration to me because of his ability to cross genres, and making CD’s as a leader doing so. He paved the way for versatile drummer-leaders, so I’m following in his footsteps --- Idris Muhammad died on Tues evening at the age of 74. His cause of death has not yet been confirmed, but Williams and other friends noted that Muhammad had been receiving dialysis treatment in New Orleans — where he had returned from New York City to retire back in 2011. While he had spent the past two decades working with jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal, Muhammads drumming covered almost every genre of contemporary music, including rock n roll. He toured or recorded with a whos who of big names — Roberta Flack, Grover Washington, George Benson, Sonny Stitt and John Scofield, to name a few. Williams said that Muhammad got his first national touring gig with Sam Cooke before moving on to Jerry Butler, Curtis Mayfield and beyond. He was eclectic in terms of his playing, Williams said. He mixed the New Orleans sound, that sound of the street music, with jazz music and rock n roll, and had all that intertwined, Williams explained. He tuned his drum to get the sound from the New Orleans street bands, the marching bands, and hed get that kind of sound that would come from New Orleans. Thats why he was so sought after. He had the syncopation of New Orleans. Read more at nola/music/index.ssf/2014/07/idris_muhammad_legendary_new_o.html Lorans Dance by Grover Washington, Jr. Idris Muhammad - drums Randy Brecker - trumpet Grover Washington, Jr. - saxophones Joe Beck - guitar Bob James - keyboards Gary King - bass Ralph MacDonald - percussion
Posted on: Thu, 31 Jul 2014 17:50:56 +0000