Kahil El'Zabar (born Clifton Blackburn; November 11, 1953) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

multi-instrumentalist A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments, often but not exclusively at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as woodwind doubler, doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and mor ...

(mainly a

percussionist A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

) and composer. He regularly records for

Delmark Records Delmark Records is an independent, American jazz and blues independent record label. It was founded in 1958 as Delmar Records and is based in Chicago, Illinois. The label originated in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1953 when then owner, and founder, ...

Life and work

El'Zabar was born in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. He attended

Lake Forest College Lake Forest College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lake Forest, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Lind University by a group of Presbyterian ministers, the college has been coeducatio ...

and joined the

Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) is an American nonprofit organization, founded in 1965 in Chicago by pianist Muhal Richard Abrams, pianist Jodie Christian, drummer Steve McCall, and composer Phil Cohran. The AA ...

(AACM) in the early 1970s, and became its chairman in 1975. During the 1970s, he formed the musical groups Ritual Trio and the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, both of which remain active. Musicians with whom Kahil EL'Zabar has collaborated include

Cannonball Adderley Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley (September 15, 1928August 8, 1975) was an American jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist of the hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s. Adderley is perhaps best remembered by the general public for the 1966 soul ...

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 ...

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

, David Murray,

Pharoah Sanders Pharoah Sanders (born Ferrell Lee Sanders; October 13, 1940 – September 24, 2022) was an American jazz saxophonist. Known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on the saxophone, as well as his use of "sheets of sound", San ...

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...

Nina Simone Nina Simone ( ; born Eunice Kathleen Waymon; February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003) was an American singer, pianist, songwriter, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, and po ...

, and

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

. In 2017 the film ''Be Known - The Mystery of Kahil El Zabar'' by filmmaker Dwayne Johnson-Cochran was released. The documentary follows El' Zabar and band on their 2007 Black History Month tour.

Discography (partial)

As leader/co-leader

* ''Golden Sea'' (Sound Aspects, 1989) - with David Murray * '' Return of the Lost Tribe'' (Delmark, 1998) as Bright Moments with

Joseph Jarman Joseph Jarman (September 14, 1937 – January 9, 2019) was an American jazz musician, composer, poet, and Shinshu Buddhist priest. He was one of the first members of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and a member of the ...

, Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre, Malachi Favors and Adegoke Steve Colson * '' One World Family'' (CIMP, 2000) - with David Murray * '' Spirits Entering'' (Delmark, 2001) - with

* '' Love Outside of Dreams'' (Delmark, 2002) - with David Murray, Fred Hopkins * '' We Is'' (Delmark, 2004) - with David Murray * ''Transmigration'' (Delmark, 2007) * '' What It Is!'' (Delmark, 2013) * ''Kahil El’Zabar’s Spirit Groove'' (Spiritmuse, 2020) - with David Murray * ''Kahil El'Zabar's America the Beautiful'' (Spiritmuse, 2020) With Ethnic Heritage Ensemble * ''Three Gentlemen From Chicago'' (Moers Music, 1981) * ''Impressions'' (Red Records, 1982) * ''Welcome'' (Leo Records, 1984) * '' Ancestral Song'' (Silkheart, 1988) * '' Hang Tuff'' (Open Minds, 1991) with Joseph Bowie, Edward Wilkerson * '' Dance with the Ancestors'' (Chameleon, 1993) * '' 21st Century Union March'' ( Silkheart, 1997) with Joseph Bowie, Edward Wilkerson * '' The Continuum'' (Delmark, 1997) * '' Papa's Bounce'' (CIMP, 1998) with Joseph Bowie, Ernest Dawkins, Atu Harold Murray * '' Freedom Jazz Dance'' (Delmark, 1999) with Fareed Haque * ''Ka-Real'' (Silkheart, 1997

000 Triple zero, Zero Zero Zero, 0-0-0 or variants may refer to: * 000 (emergency telephone number), the Australian emergency telephone number * 000, the size of several small List of screw drives, screw drives * 0-0-0, a Droid (Star Wars)#0-0-0, dro ...

* ''Hot 'N' Heavy'' (Delmark, 2007) * ''Mama's House'' (Katalyst, 2009) * ''Black is Back'' (Katalyst, 2014) * ''Be Known Ancient/Future/Music'' (Spiritmuse, 2019) With Ritual Trio * ''The Ritual'' (Sound Aspects, 1985) * ''Sacred Love'' (Sound Aspects, 1985) - with * ''Another Kind of Groove'' (Sound Aspects, 1986) - with

* ''Alika Rising'' (Sound Aspects, 1990) * '' Renaissance of the Resistance'' (Delmark, 1994) * '' Big Cliff'' ( Delmark, 1995) - with

* '' Jitterbug Junction'' (

CIMP Creative Improvised Music Projects, usually abbreviated CIMP or C.I.M.P., is an American jazz record company and label. It is associated with ''Cadence'' magazine and Cadence Jazz Records. The label is noted for its minimal use of electronic pr ...

, 1997) with Ari Brown, Malachi Favors * '' Conversations'' (Delmark, 1999) - with

Archie Shepp Archie Shepp (born May 24, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of avant-garde jazz. Biography Early life Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but ...

, Ari Brown, Malachi Favors * '' Africa N'Da Blues'' (Delmark, 2000) - with Archie Shepp, Ari Brown, Malachi Favors,

* '' Live at the River East Art Center'' (Delmark, 2005) - with

* '' Big M: A Tribute to Malachi Favors'' (Delmark, 2006) - with Billy Bang * ''Ooh Live'' (Bright Moments, 2008) - with Pharoah Sanders * ''The Ancestors Are Amongst Us'' (Katalyst, 2010) - with

Lester Bowie Lester Bowie (October 11, 1941 – November 8, 1999) was an American jazz trumpet player and composer. He was a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and co-founded the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Biography Born in th ...

* '' Follow the Sun'' (Delmark, 2013) With Tri-Factor * ''The Power'' (CIMP, 2000) - with

Hamiet Bluiett Hamiet Bluiett (; September 16, 1940 – October 4, 2018) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. His primary instrument was the baritone saxophone, and he was considered one of the finest players of this instrument. A membe ...

* ''If You Believe'' (8th Harmonic Breakdown, 2002) With Kahil El'Zabar Quartet * ''A Time For Healing'' (Spiritmuse, 2022)

As sideman

With David Murray *'' A Sanctuary Within'' (Black Saint, 1991) *'' The Tip'' (DIW, 1994) *'' Jug-A-Lug'' (DIW, 1994) With

Wadada Leo Smith Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith (born December 18, 1941) is an American trumpeter and composer, working primarily in the field of creative music. He was one of three finalists for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Music for ''Ten Freedom Summers'', released on ...

*'' Procession of the Great Ancestry'' (Nessa, 1989)

References

External links

*
Delmark Records: Interview with Kahil EL'Zabar
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zabar, Kahil 1953 births African-American drummers American jazz composers American male jazz composers American jazz drummers American jazz percussionists Avant-garde jazz musicians CIMP artists Delmark Records artists Lake Forest College alumni Living people Drummers from Chicago 20th-century American drummers American male drummers Jazz musicians from Illinois 20th-century American male musicians Ethnic Heritage Ensemble members 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American musicians