Ahmed Abdullah (born Leroy Bland; May 10, 1946) is an American jazz

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standar ...

er who was a prominent member of

Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific ou ...

's band.

Biography

He began playing the trumpet at age 13 in his native

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. One of the first groups he performed with was the Master Brotherhood. By the 1970s, he was performing in New York's loft scene with various groups including the Melodic Art-Tet (Charles Brackeen, Roger Blank and Ronnie Boykins, later William Parker) and joined the

Arkestra. Ahmed Abdullah formed his own band in 1972 ,and joined the Sun Ra Arkestra in 1975, working there on and off until 1993, when Sun Ra died. He stayed on with the Arkestra after Sun Ra's demise working under the leadership of John Gilmore and then Marshall Allen. During his time with the Arkestra, Abdullah participated in more than 25 recordings and traveled extensively with Sun Ra.Ahmed Abdullah with Louis Reyes Rivera
"Excerpts from A Strange Celestial Road (Traveling the Spaceways)"
Ahmedian.com; accessed March 28, 2015 After leaving the Arkestra, Abdullah wrote memoirs of his time with that organization. In 2002, Ahmed began teaching a course on the Music and Philosophy of Sun Ra at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. Ahmed Abdullah's own bands have at times been called Abdullah, the Solomonic Unit, Diaspora and Ebonic Tones. In 1995, Ahmed and his wife, Monique Ngozi Nri, formed Melchizedek Music Productions (MMP), to breathe new life into the Sun Ra Arkestra. In 1998. Ahmed was asked to be the Music Director of Sistas' Place. and has helped to make that institution an historic landmark in

Bedford Stuyvesant Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst t ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

. In 2019, Abdullah collaborated with former Sun Ra comrade Francisco Mora Catlett, to create the first recording for Melchizedek Music Productions : ''Diaspora Meets AfroHORN.''

Discography

As leader

*'' Wildflowers: The New York Loft Jazz Sessions'' (Douglas / Casablanca, 1976

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one track: "Blue Phase" with Charles Brackeen *''Live at Ali's Alley'' (

Cadence In Western musical theory, a cadence (Latin ''cadentia'', "a falling") is the end of a phrase in which the melody or harmony creates a sense of full or partial resolution, especially in music of the 16th century onwards. Don Michael Randel ( ...

, recorded 1978) released 1980 with Chico Freeman *''Life's Force'' (About Time, 1979) with Vincent Chancey, Jay Hoggard, Muneer Abdul Fatah, Jerome Hunter, Rashied Sinan *'' Liquid Magic'' ( Silkheart, 1987) with Charles Brackeen, Malachi Favors, Alvin Fielder * ''

Ahmed Abdullah and the Solomonic Quintet ''Ahmed Abdullah and the Solomonic Quintet'' is an album by trumpeter Ahmed Abdullah's featuring saxophonist David S. Ware, guitarist Masujaa, bassist Fred Hopkins, and drummer Charles Moffett which was recorded in late 1987 and released on the Sw ...

'' (Silkheart, 1988) with Charles Moffett, David S. Ware and Fred Hopkins, Masujaa *''

Dedication Dedication is the act of consecrating an altar, temple, church, or other sacred building. Feast of Dedication The Feast of Dedication, today Hanukkah, once also called "Feast of the Maccabees," is a Jewish festival observed for eight days ...

'' ( CIMP, 1998) with

Carlos Ward Carlos Ward (born May 1, 1940 in Ancón, Panama) 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. Biography Ward was raised in Panama City, and at a ...

and Alex Blake *'' Actual Proof'' NAM (CIMP, 1999), Alex Harding, Masa Kamaguchi, Jimmy Weinstein *''Song of Time, NAM, Live at the Vision Festival, 2001'' (

Clean Feed Clean may refer to: * Cleaning, the process of removing unwanted substances, such as dirt, infectious agents, and other impurities, from an object or environment * Cleanliness, the state of being clean and free from dirt Arts and media Music Al ...

, 2004) *'' Traveling the Spaceways'' ( Planet Arts, 2004), Billy Bang, Salim Washington, Craig Harris, Cody Moffett, Masujaa, Radu ben Judah, Monique Ngozi Nri, Owuar Arunga *'' Tara's Song'' (TUM, 2005) with Billy Bang, Alex Harding, Alex Blake and Andrei Strobert *''Diaspora Meets AfroHORN, Jazz: A Music of the Spirit / Out of Sistas' Place'' (2020), Ahmed Abdullah and Francisco Mora Catlett, Alex Harding, Donald Smith, Radu ben Judah, Bob Stewart, Roman Diaz, Ronnie Burrage, Don Chapman, Monique Ngozi Nri

As sideman

With Sun Ra *''A Quiet Place in the Universe'' (

Leo Leo or Léo may refer to: Acronyms * Law enforcement officer * Law enforcement organisation * ''Louisville Eccentric Observer'', a free weekly newspaper in Louisville, Kentucky * Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity Arts an ...

, 1976/77) *''Destination Unknown'' (

Enja Enja Records is a German jazz record company and label based in Munich which was founded by jazz enthusiasts Matthias Winckelmann and Horst Weber in 1971. The label's first release was by Mal Waldron, and early releases included European and ...

) *'' Somewhere Else'' ( Rounder, 1988–89) * ''

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'' ( Black Saint, 1990) * '' Live at Montreux'' (Inner City, 1976) * ''

Cosmos The cosmos (, ) is another name for the Universe. Using the word ''cosmos'' implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity. The cosmos, and understandings of the reasons for its existence and significance, are studied in ...

'' (Cobra, 1976) With

Billy Bang Billy Bang (September 20, 1947 – April 11, 2011), born William Vincent Walker, was an American free jazz violinist and composer. Biography Bang's family moved to New York City's Bronx neighborhood while he was still an infant, and as a ...

*''

The Fire from Within ''The Fire from Within'' is an album by the American jazz violinist Billy Bang, recorded in 1984 and released on the Italian Soul Note label.

'' (

Soul Note Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz. History Black S ...

, 1984) With Arthur Blythe *''

The Grip ''The Grip'' is a live debut album by jazz saxophonist Arthur Blythe which was recorded at the Brook, New York City in 1977 and released on the India Navigation label.

'' ( India Navigation, 1977) *'' Metamorphosis'' (India Navigation, 1977) With Dennis González *''

Namesake A namesake is a person, geographic location, or other entity bearing the name of another. History The word is first attested around 1635, and probably comes from the phrase "for one's name's sake", which originates in English Bible translations ...

'' (Silkheart, 1987) With The Group (Abdullah,

Marion Brown Marion Brown (September 8, 1931 – October 18, 2010) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, writer, visual artist, and ethnomusicologist. He was a member of the avant-garde jazz scene in New York City during the 1960s, playing alongs ...

, Sirone, Fred Hopkins,

Andrew Cyrille Andrew Charles Cyrille (born November 10, 1939) is an American avant-garde jazz drummer. Throughout his career, he has performed both as a leader and a sideman in the bands of Walt Dickerson and Cecil Taylor, among others. AllMusic biographe ...

) * ''

Live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music * Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of album ...

'' (No Business Records, 2012) With the Melodic Art-Tet (Abdullah, Charles Brackeen, William Parker, Roger Blank, Tony Waters) * ''

Melodic Art–Tet ''Melodic Art–Tet'' is a live album by the cooperative group of the same name, featuring saxophonist Charles Brackeen, trumpeter Ahmed Abdullah, bassist William Parker, drummer Roger Blank, and percussionist Tony Waters. It was recorded on Octob ...

'' (No Business Records, 2013)

References

External links

Ahmed Abdullah
Official site {{DEFAULTSORT:Abdullah, Ahmed 1947 births Living people American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters Sun Ra Arkestra members Avant-garde jazz trumpeters Cadence Jazz Records artists Converts to Islam American male jazz musicians