RIP drummer Idris Muhammad who died Tues at the age of 74. Drummers really dont come with deeper grooves than his, said Nate Chinen.of the NY Times. Muhammads drumming covered almost every genre of contemporary music, He worked with Ahmad Jamal for decades and toured or recorded with a whos who of big names — Roberta Flack, Grover Washington, Jr.., George Benson, Joe Lovano and John Scofield, to name a few. According to friend, Dan Williams, 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. Featuring the arrangements and keyboards of Bob James, the saxophone punch of Grover Washington, Jr., guitarist Joe Beck, trumpeter Randy Brecker, percussionist Ralph MacDonald, and the knife-edge slick production of Creed Taylor, this 1974 issue is a burning piece of deep, jazzy soul and grooved-out bliss. The funk flies fast and heavy, particularly on the title track - Jimi Hendrixs tune with soaring solos by Grover and James, who fall down in the groove to Muhammads powerful pace, setting from the heart of the pocket. Becks own solo is special in that he moves against the tempo just a bit, but that only increases the listeners dependence on the groove of Muhammad.
Posted on: Thu, 31 Jul 2014 06:23:23 +0000
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