Life's Force | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1979 | |||
Studio | Blue Rock Studio, New York City | |||
Genre | Jazz | |||
Label | About Time AT-1001 | |||
Ahmed Abdullah chronology | ||||
|
Life's Force is an album by trumpeter Ahmed Abdullah, listed simply as "Abdullah" on the cover. His debut as a leader, it was recorded at Blue Rock Studio in New York City, and was issued in 1979 by About Time Records as the label's inaugural release. On the album, Abdullah is joined by hornist Vincent Chancey, cellist Muneer Abdul Fatah, vibraphonist Jay Hoggard, bassist Jerome Hunter, and drummer Rashied Sinan. [1] [2] [3]
In 1979, while Abdullah was music director of her dance company, "Life's Force" was choreographed by Dianne McIntyre, and the work was premiered at the Carver Center in San Antonio, Texas. [4] [5] [6] McIntyre described it as "a dance music collaboration" in which "dancers become part of the band." [6] She commented: "Ahmed Abdullah... developed the dance together along with the people in the company. For him 'Life's Force' celebrates the energy that takes people to higher consciousness. It's the inner spirit. There is a rhythmical source that keeps on throughout the whole piece. The pulse is still going even when the piece finishes." [6] Following a performance of the work in New York City, Jennifer Dunning of The New York Times stated that it "stole the show," calling the music "vibrant" and "hard-pushing," and the choreography "full of invention." [7]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz | [8] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [9] |
In a review for AllMusic, Scott Yanow called the album a "stimulating release," and praised Abdullah's "appealing tone" and "adventurous style." He wrote: "The unusual blend of colorful instruments is the prime reason to pick up this obscure LP." [1]
A writer for The Jazz Spot stated that the album "blends... a great amount of sophistication and harmony," and noted the "exploratory and adventurous virtues of a composer that gives great importance to the melodic aspects but also to details." [10]
"Assunta" composed by Cal Massey. Remaining tracks composed by Ahmed Abdullah.
Jazz dance is a performance dance and style that arose in the United States in the mid 20th century. Jazz dance may allude to vernacular jazz, Broadway or dramatic jazz. The two types expand on African American vernacular styles of dance that arose with jazz music. Vernacular jazz dance incorporates ragtime moves, Charleston, Lindy hop and mambo. Popular vernacular jazz dance performers include The Whitman Sisters, Florence Mills, Ethel Waters, Al Minns and Leon James, Frankie Manning, Norma Miller, Dawn Hampton, and Katherine Dunham. Dramatic jazz dance performed on the show stage was promoted by Jack Cole, Bob Fosse, Eugene Louis Faccuito, and Gus Giordano.
Dianne Elizabeth Reeves is an American jazz singer.
David Gilmore is an American jazz guitarist.
Ahmed Abdullah is an American jazz trumpeter who was a prominent member of Sun Ra's band.
Fred Hopkins was an American double bassist who played a major role in the development of the avant-garde jazz movement. He was best known for his association with the trio Air with Henry Threadgill and Steve McCall, and for his numerous performances and extensive recordings with major jazz musicians such as Muhal Richard Abrams, Arthur Blythe, Oliver Lake, and David Murray. He was a member of the AACM, and a frequent participant in the loft jazz scene of the 1970s. He also co-led a number of albums with the composer and cellist Diedre Murray. Gary Giddins wrote that Hopkins' playing "fused audacious power with mercuric reflexes." Howard Reich, writing in the Chicago Tribune, stated that "many connoisseurs considered [Hopkins] the most accomplished jazz bassist of his generation" and praised him for "the extraordinarily fluid technique, sumptuous tone and innovative methods he brought to his instrument."
Carlos Ward is a funk and jazz alto saxophonist and flautist. He is best known as a member of the Funk and disco band BT Express as well as a jazz sideman.
Cadence Jazz is an American record company and label specializing in noncommercial modern jazz. It is associated with Cadence Magazine.
Banyana – Children of Africa is a 1976 jazz album by Abdullah Ibrahim.
Vincent Chancey is an American jazz hornist.
Jay Hoggard is an American jazz vibraphonist.
Mayan Temples is an album by the American composer, bandleader and keyboardist Sun Ra, recorded in 1990. Released on the Black Saint label, it was Sun Ra's final studio recording as a leader.
Live! is a live album by American composer, bandleader and keyboardist Carla Bley recorded at the Great American Music Hall in 1981 and released on the Watt/ECM label in 1982.
Dianne McIntyre is an American dancer, choreographer, and teacher. Her notable works include Their Eyes Were Watching God: A Dance Adventure in Southern Blues , an adaptation of Zora Neal Hurston's novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, as well as productions of why i had to dance,spell #7, and for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf, with text by Ntozake Shange. She has won numerous honors for her work including an Emmy nomination, three Bessie Awards, and a Helen Hayes Award. She is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, and the Dramatists Guild of America.
This is the discography for American jazz musician Chico Freeman.
Wildflowers: The New York Loft Jazz Sessions is a series of five albums recorded May 14–23, 1976 at Studio Rivbea, a loft jazz space in New York City, run by Sam Rivers and his wife Bea. The albums include performances by groups led by musicians such as Hamiet Bluiett, Anthony Braxton, Marion Brown, Dave Burrell, Andrew Cyrille, Oliver Lake, Jimmy Lyons, Ken McIntyre, Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre, Roscoe Mitchell, David Murray, Sunny Murray, Sam Rivers, Leo Smith, Henry Threadgill, and Randy Weston. The recordings were originally released in 1977 on the Douglas and Casablanca labels as five separate LPs, and were reissued in 1999 by Knit Classics as a 3-CD set.
Traveling the Spaceways is an album by trumpeter Ahmed Abdullah. A tribute to his former employer, Sun Ra, it was recorded on February 27, 2004, at Clinton Studios in New York City, and was released later that year by Planet Arts Records. On the album, Abdullah is joined by members of the band known as Dispersions of the Spirit of Ra: saxophonists Salim Washington and Alex Harding, trumpeter Owuor Arunga, trombonist Craig Harris, violinist Billy Bang, guitarist Masujaa, vocalists Miles Griffith and Monique Ngozi Nri, bassist Radu Oluwu Ben Judah, and drummer Cody Moffett.
Dedication is an album by trumpeter Ahmed Abdullah. It was recorded on June 17 and 18, 1997, at the Spirit Room in Rossie, New York, and was released in 1998 by CIMP. On the album, Abdullah is joined by members of his band Diaspora: saxophonist and flutist Carlos Ward, guitarist Masujaa, bassist Alex Blake, and drummer Cody Moffett, son of Charles Moffett, to whom the album is dedicated.
Tara's Song is an album by trumpeter Ahmed Abdullah. It was recorded on May 10, 2004, at Loho Studios in New York City, and was released in 2005 by TUM Records. On the album, Abdullah is joined by members of his band Ebonic Tones: saxophonist Alex Harding, violinist Billy Bang, bassist Alex Blake, and drummer Andrei Strobert.
Live at Ali's Alley is a live album by trumpeter Ahmed Abdullah, listed simply as "Abdullah" on the cover. It was recorded on April 24, 1978, at New York City's Ali's Alley, and released on vinyl in 1980 by Cadence Jazz Records as the label's inaugural release. On the album, Abdullah is joined by saxophonist Chico Freeman, hornist Vincent Chancey, cellist Muneer Abdul Fatah, bassist Jerome Hunter, and drummer Rashied Sinan.
In the Wind: The Woodwind Quartets is an album by multi-instrumentalist Makanda Ken McIntyre. It was recorded during October 1995 and April 1996 at Marion Studios in Fairview, New Jersey, and was released in 2004 by Passin' Thru Records, three years after his death. On the album, which features eleven original compositions, McIntyre performs all instrumental parts via overdubbing, and is heard on flutes, saxophones, clarinets, and double-reed instruments.