Biography
Bilal Abdurahman's East New York Ensemble de Music emerged out of the
fertile, cross-fertilizing community of Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn , where
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African, West Indian & black American cultures converged. This rare 1974
disc, originally issued on Folkways, is back in print for the first
time in nearly 30 years and what a gem it is! At The Helm is a gorgeously
careening collection of indo-jazz that draws heavily on the near and far
eastern sounds of Turkey, Korea, North Africa, India and China and
threads them into a distinctively forceful Black Jazz idiom. In his
lifetime, Bilal had always referred to this meld as as a kind of ìBlack
Magical Musicî and the tight, energetic compositions on this unsung
masterpiece only supports the elevated, otherworldly claims. Take one
listen to their rendition of Freddie Hubbard's beautiful 13 minute epic,
ìSun Flowerî, and you'll hear why this is a must for fans of rare groove
& spiritual black jazz.
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.