The first record in many years from the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble – done with a lineup that features a variation from the original group, but a sound that's very much in keeping with their mission! The Ensemble were always dedicated to preserving a spiritual jazz tradition at a time when the Chicago and global scenes were decidedly more free jazz-oriented – and from his emergence in the 80s onward, percussionist Kahil El'Zabar has continued to fan the flames with his own music, and with fantastic collaborations like this! The group's a quartet this time around – and has the tremendous Corey Wilkes on trumpet, really giving the sound a pointed edge – next to Kahil's work on a variety of percussion instruments, the baritone sax of Alex Harding, and the cello of Ian Maskin. Maskin's performance on the record is often similar to the way in which the violin of Billy Bang was used in El'Zabar's Ritual Trio – a fluid bridge between the percussion and the horn lines – and the set includes great reworkings of the classics "Little Sunflower" and "Freedom Jazz Dance" – plus originals "Ntozake", "Pharoah", "Blew It", "Black Is Back", and "Wish I Knew". CD

The first record in many years from the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble – done with a lineup that features a variation from the original group, but a sound that's very much in keeping with their mission! The Ensemble were always dedicated to preserving a spiritual jazz tradition at a time when the Chicago and global scenes were decidedly more free jazz-oriented – and from his emergence in the 80s onward, percussionist Kahil El'Zabar has continued to fan the flames with his own music, and with fantastic collaborations like this! The group's a quartet this time around – and has the tremendous Corey Wilkes on trumpet, really giving the sound a pointed edge – next to Kahil's work on a variety of percussion instruments, the baritone sax of Alex Harding, and the cello of Ian Maskin. Maskin's performance on the record is often similar to the way in which the violin of Billy Bang was used in El'Zabar's Ritual Trio – a fluid bridge between the percussion and the horn lines – and the set includes great reworkings of the classics "Little Sunflower" and "Freedom Jazz Dance" – plus originals "Ntozake", "Pharoah", "Blew It", "Black Is Back", and "Wish I Knew". LP, Vinyl record album

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Chicago reed player Ed Wilkerson (also known as the leader of 8 Bold Souls, and a member of the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble) formed this group in the 80's as sort of a mixed large band of Chicago avant garde players, but with more of a focus on tighter swingin' sounds. This, their only LP, includes the cuts "Strollin", "Quiet Resolution", "Feets Of Clay", and "Honky Tonk Bud", which also yielded a video, that was shown quite a bit in Chicago at the time. LP, Vinyl record album