Bold new work from the legendary Pyramids ensemble – a spiritual jazz group who go back to the 70s, but who've reemerged in recent years with a renewed sense of energy, and a very forward-thinking sound! Leader Idris Ackamoor is still a master of tone and feeling on reeds – including alto and tenor, plus some other instrumentation as well – and he also vocalizes a bit on the record too hitting some righteous expressions that are in the spirit of Leon Thomas or Dwight Trible, mixed along with instrumentation from other players on drums, percussion, keyboards, trumpet, trombone, and guitar. The album's got a beautifully positive vibe – and titles include "Police Dem", "First Peoples", "Afro Futuristic Dreams", "Garland Rose", "Truth To Power", and "Requiem For The Ancestors". CD

Bold new work from the legendary Pyramids ensemble – a spiritual jazz group who go back to the 70s, but who've reemerged in recent years with a renewed sense of energy, and a very forward-thinking sound! Leader Idris Ackamoor is still a master of tone and feeling on reeds – including alto and tenor, plus some other instrumentation as well – and he also vocalizes a bit on the record too hitting some righteous expressions that are in the spirit of Leon Thomas or Dwight Trible, mixed along with instrumentation from other players on drums, percussion, keyboards, trumpet, trombone, and guitar. The album's got a beautifully positive vibe – and titles include "Police Dem", "First Peoples", "Afro Futuristic Dreams", "Garland Rose", "Truth To Power", and "Requiem For The Ancestors". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the boldest albums ever from this legendary spiritual jazz ensemble – and a set that has them reaching even further heights in their music! There's a bit more focus here than before – tunes that are somewhat shorter, and really hone in on the best elements in the group's sound – the amazing reed lines of Idris Ackamoor, and the building percussion in the grooves – often touched with odd sounds and unusual elements that give the record a similar feel to some of the more percussive Sun Ra albums on Saturn. There's a bit of vocals at points, but really just used to augment the instrumentation – and the album's got the sharply righteous tones you might expect to hear in some of the hippest Strata East work of the period! Titles include "Aomawa", "Black Man & Woman Of The Nile", "Jamaican Carnival", "Birth Speed Merging", and "Reaffirmation". LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning early moment in the long career of reedman Idris Ackamoor – music that predates his famous 70s work with The Pyramids, but which came from the same Ohio scene – an early collective of spiritual jazz players who are captured here in an amazing live performance! Unlike work by The Pyramids, The Collective were never issued on record at the time – yet they've got a tremendously powerful blend of spiritual currents and avant ideas – always skating the line between inside and out, structure and freedom – with work from Ackamoor on alto, Margaux Simmons on flute, Steve Rumboat on French Horn, Lester Knibbs on piano, Greg LaMont Wright on soprano, and Steve Maniscoso on percussion. Titles include "Beginning Roots", "The Shepherd's Tune", "Idrissa's Dream", "Black Queen", and "Veil Of Solitude". LP, Vinyl record album

A full three albums by the legendary Pyramids – all packaged together in one complete set, with an unreleased bonus album too! The Pyramids recorded three key records during the 70s – each of them an underground classic, all served up in a wonderful bit of spiritual soul jazz with a really cosmic feel! The group are heavy on percussion and reeds – blending congas and assorted other percussion instruments with soprano sax, alto, and flute – all in a captivating sound that builds up nicely over the course of the album's two long tracks! The music is very organic – never too forced, nor never too far out – and there's a majestic quality to the whole thing, one that really lives up to the group's name and image on the cover. And although the ensemble hail from Ohio – hardly a spot you'd peg for spiritual jazz in the 70s – they're a key link between the early 70s avant movements in Chicago and St Louis, some of the hip grooves in Detroit's Tribe Records scene, and the growing loft jazz movement in New York. The reeds are especially nice – alto sax from Idris Ackamoor and flute from Margo Ackamoor – and all other group members play percussion, and vocalize too – singing along with some of the tunes in chanting, chorus formation, which adds an even further element of soul to the mix. Includes the full albums Lalibela, King Of Kings, and Birth Speed Merging – plus the rare album Live At KQED, recorded by the group in 1975! Great package – features the full albums, plus a 32 page booklet of new notes and rare photos! CD

Incredible music from The Pyramids – an obscure Midwestern combo who made some pretty amazing records in the early 70s! There's a heavy dose of spirituality in the mix here – a vibe that rivals some of the best albums of the time on Strata East, but with a freer sound overall – elements of the AACM Chicago scene, or some of the hipper grooves coming out of St Louis – particularly in the way the band builds up energy on the longer tracks. The reeds are especially nice – alto sax from Idris Ackamoor and flute from Margo Ackamoor – and all other group members play percussion, and vocalize too – singing along with some of the tunes in chanting, chorus formation, which adds an even further element of soul to the mix. Rhythms range from hard-driving to completely hypnotic – and titles include "Nsorama", "My Africa", "Mogho Naba", and "Queen Of The Spirits". LP, Vinyl record album