Kahil El’Zabar’s Ethnic Heritage Ensemble: Open Me, a Higher Consciousness of Sound and Spirit – review

(Spiritmuse)
The Chicago drummer’s collective add strings to their loose, laid-back groove, making for a subtly powerful listen   

Over the past 50 years, Chicago drummer  https://www.kahilelzabaris.com/" rel="nofollow - Kahil El’Zabar  has been at the forefront of the avant garde in jazz. He has collaborated with the trumpeters Don Cherry and Dizzy Gillespie and provided percussion for stars such as Stevie Wonder, but it is with his Ethnic Heritage Ensemble that El’Zabar has found himself most free. Across their 15 albums he has tapped into west African polyrhythms, meditative ambience and soaring spirituality, producing a signature swing that is loose and laid-back without allowing the groove to fall apart. The band are usually accompanied by trumpet and baritone saxophone, and their latest record sees the addition of a string section, creating 12 tracks of typically soulful, freeform jazz.