Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Rashid Bakr was born Charles Downs on October 3, 1943 in Chicago, Illinois but grew up in Bronx, New York from the age of four. His decision to become a musician came from the profound influence of John Coltrane had on him, along with his uncle, drummer Papa Jo Jones. As a child surrounded by jazz musicians growing up, he was given his first set of sticks by Art Blakey and was soon sitting in with his uncle in a Dixieland band.
He attended Queens College studying chemistry and psychology and on to Brooklyn College grad school gaining a degree in clinical psychology. While in college he never missed a Coltrane or Miles Davis performance and his father bought him his first drum set.
During the Seventies, after college and a stint in the Army saxophonist Bobby Zankel took him to an auspicious audition for him with Cecil Taylor, becoming part of his big band. He was active in the New York City loft jazz scene, performing at venues such as Rashied Ali’s Ali’s Alley and Sam Rivers’ Studio Rivbea. He was a member of Ensemble Muntu with Jemeel Moondoc, among others.
In 1976, Bakr performed in a production of Adrienne Kennedy’s A Rat’s Mass directed by Cecil Taylor at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in the East Village of Manhattan. Also in the production were Jimmy Lyons, Andy Bey, Karen Borca, David S. Ware, and Raphe Malik. Taylor’s production combined the original script with a chorus of orchestrated voices used as instruments. 1981 saw him with Taylor touring Europe for three years before returning to New York City.
Free jazz drummer Rashid Bakr is a member of Other Dimensions in Music with Roy Campbell, Daniel Carter, and William Parker.
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