A completely righteous mix of jazz and African percussion – put together by drummer Art Blakey at a time when he was riding high with the Jazz Messengers, but also was willing to work on great experiments like this! The album's years ahead of its time – and arguably opens the door for countless spiritual jazz projects like this in the 70s, more proof that Blakey was a groundbreaking artist who was always opening doors for others! Blakey's own work on drums is joined by percussion from Montego Joe, Chief Bey, Garvin Masseux, James Ola, Folami, Robert Crowder, and Solomon Ilori – the last of whom would record his own record for Blue Note – and the rest of the group features Yusef Lateef on flute and tenor, Curtis Fuller on trombone, and the great Ahmed Abdul-Malik on bass – a great choice for the record, given that he was mixing together similar modes on his own records of the time. Titles include "Tobi Ilu", "Love, The Mystery Of", and "Obirin African". (Jazz, Global Grooves) CD

A brilliant mix of jazz and world music! Abdul-Malik was the legendary bass player from the fifties who mixed straight jazz playing with traditional Middle Eastern rhythms – and although he most famously recorded albums with Monk as a regular bassist, his albums on his own are amazing blends of jazz and world music, done years before anyone else had contemplated doing so! This album is similar to Abdul-Malik's Jazz Sahara album, in which he plays quite a bit on the Oud – but in this one the ensemble is much more jazz-oriented, and features Lee Morgan, Curtis Fuller, Benny Golson, and Johnny Griffin. The Oud holds center stage on most tracks, but then it drops out, and Morgan and Griffin come wailing in on solos that will rip your socks off! Titles include "Rooh", "La Ibky", "Takseem", "Searchin", and "El Ghada". Fantastic!!!! (Jazz, Global Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

A completely righteous mix of jazz and African percussion – put together by drummer Art Blakey at a time when he was riding high with the Jazz Messengers, but also was willing to work on great experiments like this! The album's years ahead of its time – and arguably opens the door for countless spiritual jazz projects like this in the 70s, more proof that Blakey was a groundbreaking artist who was always opening doors for others! Blakey's own work on drums is joined by percussion from Montego Joe, Chief Bey, Garvin Masseux, James Ola, Folami, Robert Crowder, and Solomon Ilori – the last of whom would record his own record for Blue Note – and the rest of the group features Yusef Lateef on flute and tenor, Curtis Fuller on trombone, and the great Ahmed Abdul-Malik on bass – a great choice for the record, given that he was mixing together similar modes on his own records of the time. Titles include "Tobi Ilu", "Love, The Mystery Of", and "Obirin African". (Jazz, Global Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album