Rashied Ali sadly left us Tuesday the 12th after suffering from a heart attack. As I type this now I am being entranced by his swaying rhythms and dynamic accenting behind Coltrane on the amazing Impulse release of Interstellar Space. You can here him perform on the Coltrane cut, Leo, in the player above.
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So much is being said that I couldn't do justice by repeating. Yesterday and today there have been a number of great posts in memory of Rashied Ali:
Howard Mandel posted an interview he conducted with Ali in 1990 for a Coltrane documentary.
Pianist, Ethan Iverson, of The Bad Plus, despite being on blog posting hiatus, created a quick blurb on his Do The Math blog. He even had the privilege of selling a piano to Rashied Ali 15 years ago. What a trip that must have been.
And if you haven't checked out AccuJazz yet do yourself a favor and got on it. They will be highlighting Coltrane and Ali recordings on their Avant-Garde Channel in the coming future. They wrote a brief post (alongside honoring the great Les Paul) on their blog as well.
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Being a drummer and avant-garde jazz fan alongside Rashied Ali's passing has reminded me how unfortunate I am. I have never, nor will I ever, have the chance to truly experience this generation of outstanding musicians as others before me may have.
2 comments:
A fine posting for a fine musician.
Thanks for linking to me, Matthew. I'm doing the same thing you're doing right now: listening to Interstellar Space. Otherworldly, powerful, beautiful music.
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