Continuity and Contradiction in the life of a Jazzman
Who is the Real Ambassador ?????
- Monique Ngozi Nri
It is 3 a.m., Friday night. Ronnie Scott's, home of most jazz
aficionados in
London, is emptying to the strains of taped music which is incomparably
bland
after the frenetic be-bop and melodic swing of the Sun Ra Omniverse 21st
Infinity Arkestra. . Ahmed Abdullah, an intermittent trumpeter with band
over
the last eighteen years, is engrossed in conversation with a slightly drunk,
but
earnest young man. "It was brilliant man, brilliant...but how come
no one knows
you're here? I only found out yesterday, man ". The questioner is the
archetypal
stereotype of a British jazz fan - greasy, with dark hair and pasty skin,
draining a beer can, each sentence is punctuated by; "brilliant man".
Abdullah explains the history of the Sun Ra Arkestra and with it, a large
chunk
of the history of African American jazz. He conveys a love of the music
and its
practitioners, a deep knowledge and respect for them.
Describing his own musical apprenticeship and his membership of the legendary
Sun Ra band, Abdullah re-creates a jazz world peopled by masters of their
craft
, masters of the eras of swing, be-bop, avant garde. Duke Ellington Louis
Armstrong, Miles Davis , Ornette Coleman Fletcher Henderson appear in his
narrative alongside other musicians like Cal Massey, Freddie Hubbard and
Charles
Moffett musicians who live or have lived through their craft. "The
jazz
tradition is African -American. It comes through the efforts of a people
to have
their humanity recognized. For many years it was the only way that people
could
really show a certain dignity of spirit. Jazzmen were revolutionaries".
There is
some evidence of the truth of this statement in the lives of renowned musicians,
like Charlie Parker and Miles Davis, both of whom categorically refused
to live
lives imposed on them by white America. A description of the latter, for
example, ran :"he eschews the spotlight, never smiles, makes no
announcements...Davis's music is as uncompromising as any in history...winning
his success solely on his merits, with no bending to public taste, no conversion
to entertainment and absolutely no cultivation of contacts or of anyone
likely
to do him any good. In other word no Uncle Tomming ".
There is little of the uncompromising performance stance in Sun Ra 's
magnificent presentation. His band is resplendent in glittering robes and
head-ties. At over seventy, Sun Ra has lived through many eras of jazz.
He
therefore considers it no sacrilege to mix be-bop, swing and avant garde.
His
ten-piece band, replete with dancer entertain both visually and musically.
They
perform the big band sitting down/standing up routine. They sing in those
growly, slightly off key voices which are the privilege of Jazz musicians.
Perhaps an attempt at a philosophical stance comes in Sun Ra's self appointment
as a prophet of intergalactic music.
In an extract from the cycle Greetings From The 21st Century the refrain
" I
could have enjoyed myself on this planet, if the people had been alive"
is both
a comment on humankind's existence on Earth and a barb directed at a
particularly reserved audience. It is said that Sun Ra is concerned with
the
imminent destruction of the planet, but this is a different kind of politics
from the earlier approach of jazz musicians, which made the very way one
lived
one's life challenging to authority. There is little evidence that Sun Ra's
message is addressed seriously by critics or audiences.
After a concentrated stint between 1975 and 1978 in which he played every
gig
with Sun Ra's band rehearsing and hanging out for ten hours at a stretch,
Ahmed
Abdullah increasingly took sabbaticals to work with other people and pursue
his
own musical interests. He currently leads the Solomonic Sextet, an all
star
band featuring Charles Moffett-father of some outstanding musicians and
a major
attraction since he played with Ornette Coleman-on drums, Carlos Ward on
alto
sax and flute, Billy Bang on violin, Masujaa on guitar, Fred Hopkins on
bass and
Abdullah himself on trumpet. The music they play has been appropriately
described as "a juicy sound "...a mixture of original compositions
and
arrangements of Brazilian, African and South African songs "
The authentic feel and fusion of folk songs into jazz forms may result
from
Abdullah's travels as far afield as FESTAC in Nigeria and Georgia in the
USSR.
Canto II, a track recorded on the group's last LP, Ahmed Abdullah and the
Solomonic Quintet(Silkheart SHLP 129), includes a charming Brazilian folk
song
which draws on what Paul Robeson would have called the pentatonic ear -
the
musical scale which folk melodies use across the world and through which
people
"understood and wept and rejoiced with the spirit of the songs".
The song was
documented by Clemetine de Jesus who spent much of her life recording folk
songs. The group's repertoire also includes Paul Laurence Dunbar's poem,
When
Malindy Sings. Those who have heard Maya Angelou's powerful of Dunbar's
work can
imagine the power of this poetry when combined with the sonorous accompaniment
of the bass in the piece entitled " Walk with God". Perhaps in
this sense,
Abdullah continues a revolutionary jazz tradition.
He is also concerned about the creation of an audience and the education
of
future jazz musicians. He cites his own apprenticeship and inspiration through
Louis Armstrong on the Ed Sullivan show; growing up in New York's lower
east
side packed with musicians studying with musicians like Cal Massey; the
all
important experience of playing on the bandstand with Sun Ra and his own
band,
as crucial elements of learning to play." You have to live through
this music or
you have to come under the tutorship of a person who's lived this music
in
order to play it". Taking jazz to schools, working with and encouraging
young
musicians , talking to people who are interested in jazz, therefore forms
a
significant part of Abdullah's activity.
There are, however, contradictions that nag away at the glorious rich of
then
and the barren, harsh presence of now. Jazz has become increasingly severed
from African people. It is, as Abdullah admits, the preserve of an elite,
in
Sun Ra's case, a cult following which is noted for the absence of people
of
African descent.
Young African-European musicians emerging from Britain-Courtney Pine, the
up
coming Julian Joseph, Steve Williamson - while talented and remarkable
in their
own development are none the less somewhat distanced from the free expression
and the 'life " of their African American predecessors. If this is
true for
young African male musicians, it is starkly true for African women musicians
in
Europe and the USA. Abdullah contests the need for separate labeling of
women in
jazz forums. " To me, that's the worst kind of pandering there is,
because if a
person is worth their salt they don't have to have a separate label ....
Betty
Carter, she can play Shirley Scott .... Jazz is one of the more democratic
forms
of music that is out there, it really is. If you can play, the cats will
accept
you or reject you based on that- Can you hang?". Revolution it seems
does not
extend to breaking down male preserves.
In these times however, the maintenance of the role of griot, the preservation
and passing on of traditions, cultures culled from past and present experience
is rare. In this sense Abdullah becomes an articulate representative of
Jazz, an
ambassador for an underground movement, a samizdat, quietly retaining a
form of
challenging activity for the moment when we once again need songs, rhythm,
melody - music that will inspire. The words of Louis Armstrong's Who's The
Real
Ambassador capture this role perfectly.
It is evident that I was sent by government to take your place
All I do is play the blues and meet the people face to face
I'll explain and make it plain I represent the human race
And don't pretend no more
Who's the real Ambassador......
I Brubeck
Artrage, London November 1991
return to Ahmed Abdullah
or
return to Jazz Is (Ain't Nothin But Soul)
or
return to List of Artists