Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Muhal Richard Abrams was born on September 19, 1930, in Chicago, Illinois. He didn’t start his musical training until his enrollment in Roosevelt University but not hearing what he heard in the streets caused him to study piano on his own. His natural ability to study and analyze things allowed him to read, identify the key the music was in, then the notes and how to play the piano. Listening to Art Tatum, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk and many others, he concentrated on the composition of Duke Ellington and Fletcher Henderson pieces. Although it took a lot of time and sweat, he was soon playing on the scene.
Abrams’ first gigs were playing the blues, R&B, and hard bop circuit in Chicago and working as a sideman with everyone from Dexter Gordon and Max Roach to Ruth Brown and Woody Shaw. In 1950 he began writing arrangements for the King Fletcher Band, and in 1955 played in the hard-bop band Modern Jazz Two + Three, with tenor saxophonist Eddie Harris.
After this group folded he kept a low profile until he organized the Experimental Band in 1962, a contrast to his earlier hard bop venture in its use of free jazz concepts. This band, with its fluctuating lineup, evolved into the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), emerging in May 1965 with Abrams as its president. Opting not to play in smoky nightclubs they often rented out theatres and lofts where they could perform for attentive and open-minded audiences.
His landmark album “Levels and Degrees of Light” in 1967 saxophonists Anthony Braxton and Maurice McIntyre, vibraphonist Gordon Emmanuel, violinist Leroy Jenkins, bassist Leonard Jones and vocalist Penelope Taylor. However, he never strayed too far from hard bop during this period playing with Eddie Harris, Dexter Gordon and other hard boppers.
Moving to New York in 1975, Abrams became a part of the local Loft Jazz scene and in 1983 he established the New York chapter of the AACM. Over the course of his career he composed for symphony orchestras, classical works, string quartets, solo piano, voice, and big bands in addition to making a series of larger ensemble recordings that include harp and accordion. He has recorded extensively under his own name frequently on the Black Saint label and as a sideman on others’ records, working with the likes of Marion Brown, Chico Freeman, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, Art Farmer, Sonny Stitt, Art Ensemble of Chicago, and numerous others.
Muhal Richard Abrams, educator, administrator, composer, arranger, cellist, clarinetist and pianist was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Vision Festival, New York City’s premier jazz festival and in 2010 was honored as a NEA Jazz Master. He continues to perform and record.