Jul 092020
 

here’s a pair of shows from drummer ed blackwell with ahmed abdullah on trumpet.  i’ve been meaning to share the 1979 nyc show for some time, ages actually.   but like so much, i never got around to it.  then, on a sort of “ed blackwell day” on tuesday, i thought the 1994 montreal show needed to be included as well, to make a little “two-fer”, though i’d reseeded it on dime around a year ago.  if you like ahmed abdullah (as i obviously do), i shared a pair of back-to-back shows in old cabell hall at uva & the next day at d.c.space. back in 2017.

in unrelated news, if you’re partial to drummer paul motian, check out uncle paul’s jazz closet, the blog of his niece’s radio show dedicated to her uncle paul motian.  nice, historical and kinda sweet.


ed blackwell quartet
tin palace
nyc, ny
3 december 1979

ed blackwell – drums
ahmed abdullah – trumpet
charles brackeen – tenor saxophone
mark helias – bass

1 intro
2 ut
3 ut
4 ut

tt 33:00

broadcast on wkcr
fm>?>cdr>xact>flac


ed blackwell
theatre du nouveau monde
montreal jazz fest.,
montreal, quebec, canada
4 july 1991

ed blackwell – drums
carlos ward – flute & alto sax
mark helias – acoustic bass
ahmed abdullah – trumpet

1. announcer and introduction from stage (03:12)
2. unknown (10:45)
3. pettiford bridge (carlos ward) (12:34)
4. beau regard (mark helias) (11:17)
5. unknown (10:07)
6. pentahouve (mark helias) (08:26)
7. mallet song (carlos ward) –> grandma’s shoes (carlos ward) (15:52)
8. lito, part i-iii (carlos ward) (incomplete) –> announcer outro (04:09)

(thanks trane time)
8 cuts

tt 1:16:25

source: trade cd> fm recording > db power> traders little helper> flac (level 8)

fm a

cbc-cbof fm “jazz sur le vif”


sample: ed blackwell 1979-12-03 (4tet) tin palace, nyc t03 ut.mp3  and  ed blackwell 1991-07-04 montreal t02 ut.mp3
downloads: EdBlackwell_1979-12-03_TinPalace_NYC.zip  &  EdBlackwell_1991-07-04_MontrealQCCanada.zip

Mar 172017
 

here’s the ahmed abdullah show from the next night, in d.c. space.  i used to go there quite a lot in the late 70’s & early 80’s, though at the time i was more into punk, new wave, blues and southern rock (but already had a few jazz lps… so it begins).  it was an amazing club.  a lot of people there also went to the old 9:30 club at 930 f street (was it the atlantic building? atlantis?  anyway, there’s another blast from the past) as the music was more regular (too much, well, jazz & stuff at d.c. space that, sadly, i now regret missing).  by the time of this show, though, i had already moved away.

anyway, i know that on the last posting, i said that from the setlist this seemed like it might be just a first set.  but at 2 hrs 18 mins, i have to question that thought…  just saying.

www.ahmedian.com
www.carlosward.com


ahmed abdullah’s solomonic sextet featuring charles moffett
d.c. space
washington dc
september 15, 1990

ahmed abdullah – trumpet and vocals
carlos ward – alto saxophone and flute
billy bang – violin
masujaa – guitar
fred hopkins – bass
charles moffet – drums

01 restore africa to it’s rightful owner 19:05
02 assunta 11:40
03 liquid magic 20:40
04 ut 8:33
05 ut 7:13
06 deja’s view 15:36
07 african songbird 17:26
08 iko iko 7:11
09 mystery of two 16:30
10 ut 8:17
11 ut 6:29

total time 2:18:39
made from the master cassettes > flac
from “dc” our anonymous donor:
from the master maxell udxl-ii cassettes, recorded from the front row of tables, center, with a sony walkman pro using a single-point stereo aiwa mike.


sample: ahmedabdullah_1990-09-15_dc_space_t09.mp3
download: AhmedAbdullah_1990-09-15_dc_space_WashingtonDC_VER2.zip


Mar 152017
 

following up on the jack dejohnette show at old cabell hall, ‘pino’ had asked for more from old cabell hall, and i immediately thought of this show, a bit of a favorite of mine.  i’ve never heard much by sun ra; that seriously needs to be remedied but in the meanwhile this period of ahmed abdullah suits me just fine.

so… here’s the first of two back-to-back shows by ahmed abddullah, first at old cabell hall at the university of virginia, and then (next post) at d.c. space just 110 miles up the road in washington.  same line up, and a lot of overlap with the first set of this performance but not the second — perhaps the d.c.space show is only the first set.

www.ahmedian.com
www.carlosward.com


ahmed abdullah’s solomonic sextet featuring charles moffett
old cabell hall
charlottesville, virginia
14 september 1990

ahmed abdullah – trumpet, vocals
carlos ward – alto saxophone
billy bang – violin
masujaa – guitar
fred hopkins – bass
charles moffett – drums

disc one / set one (1:11:35):
1. intros – 1:20
2. mystery of two – 10:49
3. deja’s view (hello again) – 20:15
4. walk with god – 10:28
5. remarks – 1:45
6. liquid magic – 17:48
7. ? – 9:08

disc two / set two (1:09:18):
1. introduction to suite for planet earth – 1:25
suite for planet earth:
2. part one: song of the holy warrior – 13:05
3. part two: song of time – 6:33
4. part three: song of the force – 13:54
5. part four: african wind – 4:55
6. part five: song of love – 10:34
7. remarks – 0:54
8. amanpondo – 17:54

source:
open air venue recording

lineage:
sbd >dat >dat clone >.wav via s/pdif and m-audio audiophile 2496 digital soundcard >soundforge 6.0 >cd wave >flac frontend (level 6, sbe ok)


sample: d2 t02 suite for planet earth part one song of the holy warrior.mp3
download: AhmedAbdullah_1990-09-14_OldCabellHall_UVA.zip

cd covers are original using a modified photo by “Briles Takes Pictures” from wikimedia.