''Tara's Song'' is an album by trumpeter

Ahmed Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah (born Leroy Bland; May 10, 1946) is an American jazz trumpeter who was a prominent member of Sun Ra's band. Biography He began playing the trumpet at age 13 in his native New York City. One of the first groups he performed with wa ...

. It was recorded on May 10, 2004, at

Loho Studios Loho Studios is a New York City recording studio. Founded in 1983 by brothers Edward and Victor Luke, it began as a rehearsal studio but, with the addition of recording equipment, over time became a full-fledged recording studio. Loho's Lafayette ...

in New York City, and was released in 2005 by TUM Records. On the album, Abdullah is joined by members of his band Ebonic Tones: saxophonist Alex Harding, violinist

Billy Bang Billy Bang (September 20, 1947 – April 11, 2011), born William Vincent Walker, was an American free jazz violinist and composer. Biography Bang's family moved to New York City's Bronx neighborhood while he was still an infant, and as a ...

, bassist

Alex Blake Alex Blake (born Alejandro Blake Fearon Jr., 1951) is a jazz bass player. Biography Blake was born in 1951 in Panama and moved to the United States at the age of seven, growing up in Brooklyn, New York. He began his career with Sun Ra's band A ...

, and drummer Andrei Strobert.

Reception

In a review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, Scott Yanow wrote: "This is a surprising date, one that rewards repeated listenings." Jeff Stockton of ''

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

'' called the album "marvelous," and described Ebonic Tones as "a supergroup, like when Eric Clapton played with Stevie Winwood in Blind Faith." He stated: "One can only imagine how joyous this band is live." Writing for ''

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' was an American print magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C., in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade ...

'', Chris Kelsey commented: "Abdullah... is a wonderfully lyrical, spirited improviser and gifted arranger. Remindful of pianist Abdullah Ibrahim's various small groups, this band exudes an authentically joyful intelligence." The authors of ''

The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled b ...

'' described the album as "a wonderful record and testimony to Abdullah's quietly growing authority as he approaches 60." ''JazzWords Ken Waxman praised Abdullah's composition "The Cave," stating that some of the voicings are "reminiscent of the low-flame tone poems saxophonist igiGyrce used to write for himself and trumpeter Art Farmer. Earthier than Gryce, the baritonist creates a guttural, raspy tremolo solo... while the trumpeter's double-tongued, chromatic flourishes take nothing from Farmer. Then there's Bang's slithering, triple-stopping movement. By the finale, it's obvious this cave encompasses Sun Ra-like polyharmony, as well as spikier, serpentine solo lines."

Track listing

# "Sans Souci" (

Gigi Gryce Gigi Gryce (born George General Grice Jr.; November 28, 1925 – March 17, 1983), later in life changing his name to Basheer Qusim, was an American jazz saxophonist, flautist, clarinetist, composer, arranger, and educator. While his performing ...

) – 7:39 # " Lonely Woman" (

Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, trumpeter, violinist, and composer. He is best known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Ja ...

) – 12:52 # "Tara's Song" (Ahmed Abdullah) – 9:16 # "Nothing But Love" (

Frank Lowe Frank Lowe (June 24, 1943 – September 19, 2003) was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist and composer. Biography Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Lowe took up the tenor saxophone at the age of 12. As an adult he moved to San Francisco, where h ...

) – 6:37 # "Tapestry" (

Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific ou ...

) – 8:11 # "

Blue Monk This is a list of compositions by jazz musician Thelonious Monk. 0-9 52nd Street Theme A contrafact based loosely on rhythm changes in C, and was copyrighted by Monk under the title "Nameless" in April 1944. The tune was also called "Bip Bop" b ...

" (

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk ( October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the Jazz standard, standard jazz repertoire, includ ...

) – 7:12 # "Fate in a Pleasant Mood" (Sun Ra) – 4:40 # "The Cave" (Ahmed Abdullah) – 14:16 # "

Iko Iko "Iko Iko" () is a much-covered New Orleans song that tells of a parade collision between two tribes of Mardi Gras Indians and the traditional confrontation. The song, under the original title "Jock-A-Mo", was written and released in 1953 as a si ...

" (Traditional) – 3:21

Personnel

– trumpet, voice * Alex Harding – baritone saxophone *

– violin *

– bass * Andrei Strobert – drums

References

{{authority control 2005 albums Ahmed Abdullah albums TUM Records albums