AHMED ABDUL-MALIK - Jazz Sahara (1958-1993) RM / FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

This CD reissue is an early example of fusing jazz with world music. Abdul-Malik switches between bass and oud; interacts closely with the droning violin of Naim Karacand, Jack Ghanaim's kanoon (a 72-string instrument), and Mike Hamway's darabeka (a percussive drum); and mixes in Al Harewood's drums and (on three of the four selections) the tenor of Johnny Griffin. The music is a qualified success, essentially Middle Eastern folk music with Griffin added in. This set is interesting and, in its own way, innovative but not essential. by Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1    Ya Annas = Oh, People    11:10
Ahmed Abdul-Malik
2    Isma'a = Listen    9:10
Ahmed Abdul-Malik
3    El Haris = Anxious    11:28
Ahmed Abdul-Malik
4    Farah' Alaiyna = Joy Upon Us    6:59
Ahmed Abdul-Malik
Credits :    
Drums – Al Harewood
Goblet Drum [Darabeka] – Mike Hamway
Oud, Bass – Ahmed Abdul-Malik
Strings [Kanoon] – Jack Ghanaim
Tambourine – Bilal Abdurrahman
Tenor Saxophone – Johnny Griffin (pistas: 1 to 3)
Violin – Naim Karacand

AHMED ABDUL-MALIK - East Meets West (1959-1995) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The late Ahmed Abdul-Malik was best known to jazz listeners as a bassist with Thelonious Monk, Randy Weston, Coleman Hawkins, and many others. He made a few records as a leader, with this one being his most exotic and also the hardest to find. The Brooklyn native was of Sudanese descent; in addition to playing bass on this interesting blend of Middle Eastern instruments with those from the world of jazz, he also plays oud, the forerunner to the lute. The musicians on Malik's eight originals vary from track to track. On the mournful "La Ibky (Don't Cry)," Malik's oud shares the spotlight with a tenor sax (either Benny Golson or Johnny Griffin) plus trumpeter Lee Morgan. "Rooh (The Soul)" features the 72-string kanoon (which is sort of a brittle sounding and much smaller harp) played by Ahmed Yetman, along with Malik's arco bass and the droning violin of Naim Karacand. The Middle Eastern instruments are absent during "Searchin'," which is sort of a hard bop vehicle featuring trombonist Curtis Fuller and Jerome Richardson on flute, along with the tenor sax. "Takseem (Solo)" omits the jazz instruments; the slowness of the variations of the music and rather piercing vocal make it harder for Western ears to comprehend. Not a release of interest to everyone but, for the most part, this fusion of vastly different styles of music is quite enjoyable; it's obvious from the start that the musicians were enjoying themselves as it was recorded. This long out print LP will be difficult to locate. by Ken Dryden
Tracklist :
1. E-lail (The Night) 4:17
Violin – Naim Karacand
Trumpet – Lee Morgan
Tenor Saxophone – Johnny Griffin
Tenor Saxophone – Benny Golson
Oud, Surbahar – Ahmed Abdul-Malik
Musical Box [Kanon] – Ahmed Yetman
Drums – Al Harewood
Drum [Darabeka] – Bilal Abdurraham
2. La Ibky (Don't Cry) 4:55
Violin – Naim Karacand
Trumpet – Lee Morgan
Tenor Saxophone – Johnny Griffin
Tenor Saxophone – Benny Golson
Oud, Surbahar – Ahmed Abdul-Malik
Musical Box [Kanon] – Ahmed Yetman
Drum [Darabeka] – Bilal Abdurraham
Drums – Al Harewood
3. Takseem (Solo) 5:08
Violin – Naim Karacand
Viola – Jakarawan Nasseur
Tenor Saxophone – Benny Golson
Oud, Surbahar – Ahmed Abdul-Malik
Musical Box [Kanon] – Ahmed Yetman
4. Searchin' 4:02
Trombone – Curtis Fuller
Tenor Saxophone – Benny Golson
Oud, Surbahar – Ahmed Abdul-Malik
Drums – Al Harewood
Flute – Jerome Richardson
5. Isma'a (Listen) 4:15
Violin – Naim Karacand
Trumpet – Lee Morgan
Tenor Saxophone – Johnny Griffin
Tenor Saxophone – Benny Golson
Oud, Surbahar – Ahmed Abdul-Malik
Musical Box [Kanon] – Ahmed Yetman
Drums – Al Harewood
Drum [Darabeka] – Bilal Abdurraham
6. Rooh (The Soul) 3:37
Trombone – Curtis Fuller
Tenor Saxophone – Benny Golson
Oud, Surbahar – Ahmed Abdul-Malik
Flute – Jerome Richardson
Drums – Al Harewood
7. Mahawara (The Fugue) 4:12
Trombone – Curtis Fuller
Tenor Saxophone – Benny Golson
Oud, Surbahar – Ahmed Abdul-Malik
Drums – Al Harewood
Flute – Jerome Richardson
8. El Ghada (The Jungle) 3:06
Trombone – Curtis Fuller
Tenor Saxophone – Benny Golson
Oud, Surbahar – Ahmed Abdul-Malik
Drums – Al Harewood
Flute – Jerome Richardson

AHMED ABDUL-MALIK - Eastern Moods of Ahmed Abdul Malik (1963-2012) MONO / FLAC (tracks), lossless

Tracklist :
1    Summertime 10'19
Written-By – Heyward, Girshwin
2    Ancient Scene 7'16
Written-By – Ahmed Abdul-Malik
3    Magrebi 5'18
Written-By – Ahmed Abdul-Malik
4    Sa-Ra-Ga' Ya-Hindi 9'47
Written-By – Ahmed Abdul-Malik
5    Shoof Habebe 5'17
Written-By – Ahmed Abdul-Malik
Credits :    
Alto Saxophone, Clarinet, Flute [Korean Reed Flute], Percussion – Bilal Abdurahman
Bass, Oud – Ahmed Abdul-Malik
Bass, Percussion – William Allen
Recorded By – Rudy Van Gelder

AHMED ABDUL-MALIK WITH RAY NANCE AND SELDON POWELL - Spellbound (1964-2013) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Spellbound, recorded in 1964, is double bassist and oud player Ahmed Abdul-Malik's final date as a leader, though given its contents, it shouldn't have been. Abdul-Malik, an American born musician of Sudanese descent, helped to bring the sounds of the Middle East to jazz in the '50s, incorporating oud and a different set of scales in his own recordings. His sidemen for this date are ubiquitous Duke Ellington Orchestra cornetist Ray Nance, who also plays violin here, drummer Walter Perkins, saxophonist/flutist Seldon Powell, the little known pianist Paul Neves, and oud player -- on two tracks -- Sudanese musician Hamza Aldeen (not to be confused with the Egyptian composer, oud and tar player Hamza el Din). The program on this date is unusual: three of the five tunes here come from movie soundtracks. The opening title track is from the Alfred Hitchcock film of the same name and features a fine, gently swinging solo from Neves, and some excellent frontline and violin from Nance. "Never on Sunday," from the Greek film of the same name, is a showcase for Aldeen, who twins his lines with Nance's plucked violin, anchored by Abdul-Malik and Perkins. Powell's flute moves off into a solo before the piano and oud restate the theme followed by a saxophone, piano, and second flute break. It's breezy, easy, and it swings. The interplay between Nance's cornet break and Powell's tenor solo registers its emotion as Neves fills the melody with wonderful, spacious, right-hand arpeggios. Abdul-Malik's bass opens "Song of Delilah" from the film Samson & Delilah. He's followed in a complex melodic statement by flute, a gypsy jazz solo by Nance on violin, and finally, a gorgeous oud break based on a single chord -- with deep, responsorial bass from Abdul-Malik -- that eventually moves the tune into a grooving flute break. Closer "Cinema Blues" isn't from a film. Instead, it's a straight-ahead hard bop blues, with some fine muted cornet work, killer comps from Neves, and a fluid, mid-register solo by Powell, with a driving rhythm section. Spellbound isn't as groundbreaking as some of Abdul-Malik's earlier work, but it doesn't need to be: by this point, he had successfully melded jazz with Middle Eastern sounds into a seamless -- if somewhat exotically textural -- whole. The band fires on all cylinders under his inspired direction, making this a fitting sendoff to him as a bandleader. Musically, he saved one of his best for last.
(This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa')
Tracklist :
1    Spellbound    4:57
Miklós Rózsa
2    Never On Sunday    5:14
Manos Hadjidakis
3    Body And Soul    7:14
Frank Eyton / Johnny Green / Edward Heyman / Robert Sour
4    Song Of Delilah    7:02
Ray Evans / Eldee Young
5    Cinema Blues    8:16
Ahmed Abdul-Malik
Credits :    
Bass – Ahmed Abdul-Malik
Cornet, Violin – Ray Nance
Drums – Walter Perkins
Oud – Hamza Aldeen (pistas: 2, 4)
Piano – Paul Neves
Tenor Saxophone, Flute – Seldon Powell

AHMED ABDUL-MALIK - Jazz Sounds of Africa (2003) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Jazz Sounds of Africa compiles the complete contents of two early New Jazz LPs by Ahmed Abdul-Malik, which were originally issued as The Music of Ahmed Abdul-Malik and Sounds of Africa. The music on this reissue is simply captivating, as the brilliant bassist and oud player of Sudanese descent blends elements of jazz with that of Middle Eastern and African music. While the names of several of the contributing musicians are likely to be unfamiliar to many jazz fans, except for Andrew Cyrille and Tommy Turrentine, the music proves to be fascinating throughout both sessions. Any fan of John Coltrane's composition "India," which was written and performed around the same time frame, will delight in the hypnotic opener, "Nights on Saturn," with an eerie solo by an unidentified Korean reed instrument played by Bilal Abdurrahman. The leader overdubs on oud (the Middle Eastern ancestor of the mandolin) on several tracks, as well as demonstrates his fine arco bass on the old standard "Don't Blame Me." Tommy Turrentine, whose career was unjustly overlooked because he retired from music prematurely, is a compelling soloist on the 1961 session. The latter session is far more percussive, with Abdul-Malik utilizing a larger ensemble. The highlight of this date is the lengthy exploration of the infectious original "Communication," which almost conjures up an African tribal chant with Richard Williams' trumpet as the lead voice, with the percussionists eventually taking over as they play off one another with vocal encouragement from one of the players. The songs on this CD compilation of the two-decades-old albums have stood the test of time very well. by Ken Dryden  
Tracklist :
1    Nights On Saturn 7'53
Cello – Calo Scott
Clarinet, Percussion, Reeds [Korean Reed Instrument] – Bilal Abdurrahman
Composed By, Bass – Ahmed Abdul-Malik
Drums – Andrew Cyrille
Tenor Saxophone – Eric Dixon
Trumpet – Tommy Turrentine
2    The Hustlers 5'32
Cello – Calo Scott
Clarinet, Percussion – Bilal Abdurrahman
Composed By, Bass – Ahmed Abdul-Malik
Drums – Andrew Cyrille
Tenor Saxophone – Eric Dixon
Trumpet – Tommy Turrentine
3    Oud Blues 4'11
Cello – Calo Scott
Clarinet, Percussion – Bilal Abdurrahman
Composed By, Bass, Oud – Ahmed Abdul-Malik
Drums – Andrew Cyrille
Tenor Saxophone – Eric Dixon
Trumpet – Tommy Turrentine
4    La Ibkey 5'51
Cello – Calo Scott
Clarinet, Percussion – Bilal Abdurrahman
Composed By, Bass, Oud – Ahmed Abdul-Malik
Drums – Andrew Cyrille
Tenor Saxophone – Eric Dixon
Trumpet – Tommy Turrentine
5    Don't Blame Me 7'53
Bass – Ahmed Abdul-Malik
Cello – Calo Scott
Clarinet, Percussion – Bilal Abdurrahman
Composed By – Jimmy McHugh
Drums – Andrew Cyrille
Tenor Saxophone – Eric Dixon
Trumpet – Tommy Turrentine
6    Hannibal's Carnivals 4'39
Cello – Calo Scott
Clarinet, Percussion – Bilal Abdurrahman
Composed By, Bass – Ahmed Abdul-Malik
Drums – Andrew Cyrille
Tenor Saxophone – Eric Dixon
Trumpet – Tommy Turrentine
7    Wakida Hena 3'49
Alto Saxophone – Edwin Steede
Cello, Violin – Calo Scott
Clarinet, Percussion [Darabuka] – Bilal Abdurrahman
Composed By, Bass – Ahmed Abdul-Malik
Congas, Bongos – Montego Joe
Drums – Rudy Collins
Flute – Rupert Alleyne
Percussion [African Drum] – Chief Bey
Tenor Saxophone – Taft Chandler
Trumpet – Richard Williams
8    African Bossa Nova 5'58
Alto Saxophone – Edwin Steede
Cello, Violin – Calo Scott
Clarinet, Percussion [Darabuka] – Bilal Abdurrahman
Composed By, Bass – Ahmed Abdul-Malik
Congas, Bongos – Montego Joe
Drums – Rudy Collins
Flute – Rupert Alleyne
Percussion [African Drum] – Chief Bey
Tenor Saxophone – Taft Chandler
Trumpet – Richard Williams
9    Nadusilma 3'55
Alto Saxophone – Edwin Steede
Cello, Violin – Calo Scott
Clarinet, Percussion [Darabuka] – Bilal Abdurrahman
Composed By, Bass – Ahmed Abdul-Malik
Congas, Bongos – Montego Joe
Drums – Rudy Collins
Flute – Rupert Alleyne
Percussion [African Drum] – Chief Bey
Tenor Saxophone – Taft Chandler
Trumpet – Richard Williams
10    Out Of Nowhere 4'57
Bass – Ahmed Abdul-Malik
Cello, Violin – Calo Scott
Composed By – Heyman, Green
Drums – Andrew Cyrille
Tenor Saxophone – Eric Dixon
Trumpet – Tommy Turrentine
11    Communication 9'43
Alto Saxophone – Edwin Steede
Cello, Violin – Calo Scott
Clarinet, Percussion [Darabuka] – Bilal Abdurrahman
Composed By, Bass – Ahmed Abdul-Malik
Congas, Bongos – Montego Joe
Drums – Rudy Collins
Flute – Rupert Alleyne
Percussion [African Drum] – Chief Bey
Tenor Saxophone – Taft Chandler
Trumpet – Richard Williams
12    Suffering 5'12
Alto Saxophone – Edwin Steede
Cello, Violin – Calo Scott
Clarinet, Percussion [Darabuka] – Bilal Abdurrahman
Composed By, Bass – Ahmed Abdul-Malik
Congas, Bongos – Montego Joe
Drums – Rudy Collins
Flute – Rupert Alleyne
Percussion [African Drum] – Chief Bey
Tenor Saxophone – Taft Chandler
Trumpet – Richard Williams

Recording Date
May 23, 1961 & August 22, 1962