Label: Spiritmuse Records, 2024

Personnel - Kahil El’Zabar: drums, earth drum, cajon, kalimba, voice; Isaiah Collier: tenor and soprano saxophone, percussion; Corey Wilkes: trumpet, spirit bowls, percussion; Justin Dillard: keyboards, percussion.

To confront the anxieties and challenges of our current times, drummer and spiritual jazz luminary Kahil El’Zabar delivers a double album consisting of nine tracks steeped in soothing harmonies and spring-loaded rhythms. El’Zabar’s credits span from avant-garde/free explorations with David Murray, Hamiet Bluiett, Billy Bang, and Pharoah Sanders to leadership roles in groups like the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble and Ritual Trio.

In this latest offering, the two horn players - trumpeter Corey Wilkes and saxophonist Isaiah Collier - are impressive presences throughout, while the versatile keyboardist Justin Dillard adds ample groove to the ensemble. The album kicks off with “A Time for Healing”, establishing its modus operandi with immutable circularity. Rattling percussion, spirit bowls, and kalimba support tranquilizing unisons and subsequent horn solos delivered with a mix of peaceful resolution and notable fervency. Tracks like “Drum Talk” evoke an African tribal chant, offering words of hope and guidance, while “Eddie Harris” pays homage to the late saxophonist with a groovy funk sound adorned with cool horn riffs. The funk vibe continues on “Time Is”, where El’Zabar’s eloquent cajon playing takes center stage.

While there's a hint of retro influence in this work, there's also a balanced focus on the present moment. Coltrane’s “Resolution” showcases Collier’s determined and exploratory saxophone work with outside inflection, Wilkes’ agitated phrasing carved with motivic elasticity, and Dillard’s keyboard boldness. “We’ll Get Through This” injects a strong R&B flavor into the healing sounds, while Gershwin’s “Summertime” receives a chilled-out, mantra-like treatment. Lastly,“The Coming of Spring”, a swinging jazz odyssey with a palpable structure, harkens back to Pharoah Sanders’ “You’ve Got to Have Freedom”, featuring solos from all members and a dynamic dialogue between trumpet and saxophone.

Picking up where he left off with Spirit Groove (Spiritmuse, 2020), El’Zabar weaves these well-intentioned healing sounds into iterative cycles. The spirited soloing and positive energy ease any possible monotony, accentuating the ensemble’s strengths.

Favorite Tracks:
05 - The Coming of Spring ► 06 - Resolution ► 08 - Time Is

Label: Spiritmuse Records, 2022

Personnel - Kahil El’Zabar: drums, cajon, kalimba, voice; Isaiah Collier: saxophones, reeds, percussion; Corey Wilkes: trumpet, spirit bowls, percussion; Justin Dillard: keyboards, percussion.

Active since the 1980s, the Chicago-born percussionist and composer Kahil El’Zabar spent many years honing his sound alongside seminal vanguardists like David Murray, Lester Bowie, Billy Bang and Hamiet Bluiett. Vouching to pass positive energies to a wounded world, A Time For Healing finds him in the command of a renewed quartet of Chicagoans that includes the up-and-coming reedman Isaiah Collier, trumpeter Corey Wilkes, and keyboardist Justin Dillard. By comparison with What It Is! (Delmark, 2013) - his previous quartet outing - only the latter musician remained in his post.

The nine tracks on this recording bring that spiritual side into which El’Zabar likes to immerse himself, but the vast majority of the pieces are excessively long, following a circularity that, after a while, becomes a bit prosaic regardless of the solos at the top. The driving rhythmic tapestry within the soulful title track is brought by kalimba and percussion, with Collier extracting sinuous Eastern lines from his saxophone before embarking on soothing unisons with Wilkes.

Defined as an invocation of inner strength to escape global consumption, “Drum Talk (Run’n in the Streets)” displays layers of drums in support of El’Zabar’s encouraging words - “if we use our heads we won’t die in the land of the dead. We’re coming out of the dark side”. Strong African roots are spotted on “Urban Shaman”, which builds its way with a series of juxtaposed ostinatos that are later joined by horn chants and supplications.

“Time Is” and “Eddie Harris” have funk cementing their foundations. The latter, which celebrates the soul-jazz icon in the title, replicates his vibrant energy with a throttling groove and a saxophone solo that is not shy from exploring outside the boundaries.

The breezily groovy “The Coming of Spring” relies on a confident walking bass to make the soloists comfortable, while Coltrane’s “Resolution” is a highlight due to the energy produced by the foursome. The album finishes with another cover - a relaxed, low-key reading of Gershwin’s “Summertime”. Without brilliancy, these healing vibes sound as familiar as they are artful.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - A Time For Healing ► 05 - The Coming of Spring ► 06 - Resolution