''What It Is!'' is an album by American jazz percussionist

Kahil El'Zabar Kahil El'Zabar (born Clifton Blackburn; November 11, 1953) is an American jazz multi-instrumentalist (mainly a Percussion instrument, percussionist) and composer. He regularly records for Delmark Records. Life and work El'Zabar was born in Chica ...

, which was recorded in 2012 and released on Delmark. It was the debut of a quartet comprising three young players from the school of Chicago's AACM: tenor saxophonist Kevin Nabors, pianist Justin Dillard and bassist Junius Paul. The album includes five originals and two jazz standards by

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of br ...

: " Impressions" and "Central Park West".Original Liner Notes by Howard Mandel

Reception

The ''

Down Beat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

'' review by John Murph states "Kahil El’Zabar moves toward the center this time around and releases one of his most accessible discs yet. The adventurous drummer and bandleader steers an impressive quartet, composed of some of the newer generations of the AACM, and emphasizes blues, swing and groove."Murph, John. ''What It Is!'' review. ''Down Beat'' June 13: page 66. Print. The

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

review by Troy Collins says "Whether navigating funky R&B, modal post-bop or expressionistic abstraction, El'Zabar's young sidemen invest their efforts with palpable conviction, imparting even textbook extrapolations with heartfelt urgency."Collins, Tro
''What It Is!'' review
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In his review for ''

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' is an American magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade of growth ...

'' David Whiteis states "As Howard Mandel’s liner notes assure us, this music is 'neither avant-garde nor old guard.' It’s unselfconsciously both contemporary and roots-rich, and it resonates with the joy of invention."Whiteis, Davi
''What It Is!'' review
at ''

Track listing

:''All compositions by Kahil El'Zabar except as indicated'' # "The Nature Of" – 9:50 # " Impressions" (

) – 9:43 # "What It Is!" – 4:00 # "Song of Myself" – 11:38 # "Central Park West" (John Coltrane) – 9:33 # "Kari" – 10:05

Personnel

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, African earth drum,

kalimba Mbira ( ) are a family of musical instruments, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. They consist of a wooden board (often fitted with a resonator) with attached staggered metal tines, played by holding the instrument in the hands and pl ...

*Kevin Nabors –

tenor sax The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

*Justin Dillard –

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

Hammond B3 organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs ...

Fender Rhodes The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, th ...

*Junius Paul – bass

References

{{Authority control 2013 albums Kahil El'Zabar albums Delmark Records albums