Though recorded last year on a sweltering summer day in a loft outside Chicago’s famous Loop district, Hot ‘N’ Heavy keeps its cool with performances as smart as they are passionate. Playing a traditional drum kit, kalimba and the homemade, barrel-sized “earth drum,” percussionist Kahil El-Zabar guides the Heritage Ensemble through a set of plangent melodies and swinging grooves that reflect both his decades-long association with the AACM and a fascination with musical textures and tonalities. Once a trio, now a quartet, the Ensemble-featuring Fareed Haque on guitar, Corey Wilkes (also of the Art Ensemble of Chicago) on trumpet and flugelhorn, Ernest Dawkins on saxes and El-Zabar anchoring the bassless crew-is a small group with a big, full sound.
Typical of the five tracks is “Black as Vera Cruz,” born of El-Zabar’s interest in the African presence and passage through Mexico during slavery. The earth drum beats a 4/4 rhythm, joined almost immediately by a serpentine phrase heard first on guitar before being developed into full melody by the frontline of muted trumpet and tenor. What follows is an impressionistic middle passage of rhythms and themes that summon the Sahara, West Africa and the Caribbean. Similarly, on “MT,” a lovely tune dedicated to the late trumpeter Malachi Thompson, El-Zabar starts with a seemingly simple vamp on the thumb piano, then passes it around, each musician sounding and rephrasing it in a hypnotic game of crescendo and decrescendo. While the Ethnics keep the music fresh with everything from collective improvisation and electronic effects to a relaxed blues feeling, the line between artistic intensity and artistic indulgence sometimes wears thin; some tunes just never end. - V.R. Peterson
Percussionist Kahil El'Zabar has two bands with which he releases new albums with the regularity of a clock : the Ritual Trio and the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, the latter most often a quartet. There aren't any major differences between both bands, neither musically, nor in terms of overall feeling and effect, apart from the line-up which offers a different coloring to the music. The music is strongly based in rhythms, with a fixed, contagious groove, that is maintained throughout the track, which offers the soloists ample space on their spiritual quest, built around beautiful, often long melodic lines. Atmosphere, enthusiasm, mutual encouragement and interaction between the players are all central to the concept of the band, sometimes exuberant, sometimes subdued, yet always very rhythmical and with lots of space. The major difference between both bands is the line-up : the Ritual Trio consists of percussion, bass and sax, while the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble is composed of percussion, the trombone of Joe Bowie, the sax of Ed Wilkerson or - like here - Ernest Dawkins, once every so often joined by Fareed Haque on guitar. And the repertoire is absolutely identical : El'Zabar classics such as "Ka-Real", "Ornette", "Love Outside Of Dreams", "Ancestral Song", "Alika Rising", "Papa's Bounce", etc. can be found on several records by both bands. And who cares? Only this album brings a totally new song list. And Joseph Bowie on trombone is replaced by Corey Wilkes on trumpet and flugelhorn (even played at the same time!). Quite some changes at first sight, but that does not apply to the music. The compositions keep their rhythmic base, the melodies are beautiful, the structure and arrangements simple, the percussion absolutely fabulous and the joy of playing of the musicians is a treat for the ear. And the music is at its best when performed live, in a small setting, intimistic and close. And the audience reacts like it does here : spontaneous, enthusiastic, part of the performance. The musicians give an excellent reading of El'Zabar's compositions : Corey Wilkes is really strong, Dawkins composed, with a warm bluesy tone, Haque gives the necessary harmonic support and soloes well, and El'Zabar himself is unequalled on hand percussion, and as well on his signature instrument, the thumb piano. This is mainstream jazz in its free-est form, or free jazz in its most melodic and rhythmic variation, but I don't think El'Zabar cares about these distinctions, as long as the music sounds well, creates space and spiritual feeling. And it does that for sure, and it offers joy on top. Recommended. - The Free Jazz Collective
Sencillo, que no simple, es el punto de partida para la propuesta del percusionista de Chicago Kahil El’Zabar al frente de la reencarnación, esta vez en formato de cuarteto, de su veterano Ethnic Heritage Ensemble. Melodías más bien sencillas, ritmos hipnóticos, gran variedad tímbrica, amplios espacios para la interacción y cuatro magníficos músicos son partes esenciales del magnífico resultado de este directo grabado en julio de 2006.
Encuadrado dentro de la tradición de la Great Black Music de Chicago, el grupo sabe mantener con acierto el ritmo del concierto, y a los temas más rápidos (“Major To Minor” o “Hot’N’Heavy”) suceden tempos medios (“There Is A Place”, “Black As A Vera Cruz” o la hermosa “MT”). En ellos, El’Zabar demuestra ser también un virtuoso de la kalimba (el pequeño piano de mano de origen africano) y, junto al guitarrista Fareed Haque, mantiene un intercambio de altos vuelos con el saxofonista Ernest Dawkins y Corey Wilkes, que no es otro que el deslumbrante joven sucesor de Lester Bowie en el Art Ensemble of Chicago.
Coincidiendo con el lanzamiento del compacto, Delmark ha puesto en circulación un dvd con el mismo título: contiene exactamente los mismos temas y sólo añade una entrevista y comentarios de Kahil El’Zabar y su discografía. Pero, a diferencia de otros conciertos editados en dvd, en este caso el magnífico juego con las múltiples cámaras en distintos planos e imágenes superpuestas, así como las imágenes del loft en el que fue rodado, son un valor añadido a la ya de por sí magnífica música ofrecida por este cuarteto. La grandeza de la sencillez, en otras palabras. - José Francisco Tapiz
Tracks
1. Major to Minor
2. MT
3. Hot ?N' Heavy
4. There Is a Place
5. Black As Vera Cruz
KAHIL EL'ZABAR drums, earth drums, kalimba
COREY WILKES trumpet, flugelhorn, percussion
ERNEST DAWKINS alto and tenor saxophone, percussion
FAREED HAQUE electric and acoustic guitar
Recorded on 30 July 2006 live at the Ascension Loft, Chicago, IL
Delmark Records - DE-574