Pheeroan akLaff
Encyclopedia
Pheeroan akLaff is an American jazz
drummer. Pheeroan akLaff began playing in his hometown of Detroit, and Ann Arbor, Michigan
with Travis Biggs, Ars Nova, The Ebony Set, The Last Days, and Rod Lumpkin, recorded with Major Lansky. Moved to New Haven, Connecticut
and formed DejaVu with Dwight Andrews. Debuted with Bill Baron in 1975; followed by tenure in Leo Smith's New Dalta Ahkri.
Later developed a longstanding association with Oliver Lake
, which included writing for their fusion ensemble, Jump Up. His performance and recorded history includes works with Andrew Hill
, Cecil Taylor
, Reggie Workman
and many others. He is co-founder of Seed Artists Inc. of Brooklyn 2006. He is Wesleyan University
music teacher.
With Henry Threadgill
With New Air
With Don Byron
With Julius Hemphill
With Amina Claudine Myers
With Mal Waldron
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
drummer. Pheeroan akLaff began playing in his hometown of Detroit, and Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
with Travis Biggs, Ars Nova, The Ebony Set, The Last Days, and Rod Lumpkin, recorded with Major Lansky. Moved to New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
and formed DejaVu with Dwight Andrews. Debuted with Bill Baron in 1975; followed by tenure in Leo Smith's New Dalta Ahkri.
Later developed a longstanding association with Oliver Lake
Oliver Lake
Oliver Lake is an American jazz saxophonist, flutist, composer and poet. He is known mainly on alto saxophone but also performs on soprano saxophone and flute....
, which included writing for their fusion ensemble, Jump Up. His performance and recorded history includes works with Andrew Hill
Andrew Hill
Andrew Hill was an American jazz pianist and composer.Hill is recognized as one of the most important innovators of jazz piano in the 1960s...
, Cecil Taylor
Cecil Taylor
Cecil Percival Taylor is an American pianist and poet. Classically trained, Taylor is generally acknowledged as one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an extremely energetic, physical approach, producing complex improvised sounds, frequently involving tone clusters and...
, Reggie Workman
Reggie Workman
Reginald "Reggie" Workman is an American avant-garde jazz and hard bop double bassist, recognized for his work with both John Coltrane and Art Blakey....
and many others. He is co-founder of Seed Artists Inc. of Brooklyn 2006. He is Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
music teacher.
As leader
- 1983; Fits Like a Glove (Gramavision)
- 1989: Sonogram (Mu Works)
- 1998: Global Mantras (Modern Masters)
As sideman
With Oliver LakeOliver Lake
Oliver Lake is an American jazz saxophonist, flutist, composer and poet. He is known mainly on alto saxophone but also performs on soprano saxophone and flute....
- ProphetProphet (Oliver Lake album)Prophet is an album by American jazz saxophonist Oliver Lake recorded in 1980 for the Italian Black Saint label. The album is a tribute to Eric Dolphy-Reception:...
(Black Saint, 1980) - Clevont FitzhubertClevont FitzhubertClevont Fitzhubert is an album by American jazz saxophonist Oliver Lake recorded in 1981 for the Italian Black Saint label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 3 stars calling it a "consistently stimulating set.....
(Black Saint, 1981) - Expandable LanguageExpandable LanguageExpandable Language is an album by American jazz saxophonist Oliver Lake recorded in 1984 for the Italian Black Saint label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 4½ stars stating "This free bop session is one of altoist Oliver Lake's more rewarding sessions".-Track...
(Black Saint, 1984)
With Henry Threadgill
Henry Threadgill
Henry Threadgill is an American composer, saxophonist and flautist. Threadgill came to prominence in the 1970s leading ensembles with unusual instrumentation and often incorporating a range of non-jazz genres....
- When Was That?When Was That?When Was That? is an album by Henry Threadgill released on the About Time label in 1982. The album and features five of Threadgill's compositions performed by Threadgill with Craig Harris, Olu Dara, Fred Hopkins, Brian Smith, Pheeroan akLaff and John Betsch.The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek states...
(1982) - Just the Facts and Pass the BucketJust the Facts and Pass the BucketJust the Facts and Pass the Bucket is an album by Henry Threadgill released on the About Time label in 1983. The album and features six of Threadgill's compositions performed by Threadgill with Craig Harris, Olu Dara, Fred Hopkins, Diedre Murray, Pheeroan akLaff and John Betsch.The Allmusic review...
(1983) - Subject to ChangeSubject to Change (Henry Threadgill album)Subject to Change is an album by Henry Threadgill released on the About Time label in 1985. The album features six of Threadgill's compositions performed by Threadgill with Ray Anderson, Rasul Siddik, Fred Hopkins, Diedre Murray, Pheeroan akLaff and John Betsch with Amina Claudine Myers...
(1985) - You Know the NumberYou Know the NumberYou Know the Number is an album by Henry Threadgill released on the RCA Novus label in 1986. The album and features six of Threadgill's compositions performed by Threadgill's Sextett with Frank Lacy, Rasul Siddik, Fred Hopkins, Diedre Murray, Pheeroan akLaff and Reggie Nicholson.-Reception:The...
(1986) - Easily Slip Into Another WorldEasily Slip Into Another WorldEasily Slip Into Another World is an album by Henry Threadgill released on the RCA Novus label in 1987. The album and features five of Threadgill's compositions and one by Olu Dara performed by Threadgill with Frank Lacy, Rasul Siddik, Fred Hopkins, Diedre Murray, Pheeroan akLaff and Reggie...
(1987) - Makin' a MoveMakin' a MoveMakin' a Move is an album by Henry Threadgill released on the Columbia label in 1996. The album features seven of Threadgill's compositions performed by Threadgill's Very Very Circus with guest artists.-Reception:...
(1995)
With New Air
Air (jazz group)
Air was a free jazz trio founded in 1971 by saxophone player Henry Threadgill, double bassist Fred Hopkins and drummer Steve McCall. They combined radical free improvisation with a strong sense of tune and equal emphasis on each instrument in the group....
- Live at Montreal International Jazz FestivalLive at Montreal International Jazz FestivalLive at Montreal International Jazz Festival is a live album recorded for the Italian Black Saint label by the improvisational collective New Air featuring Henry Threadgill, Fred Hopkins and Pheeroan akLaff performing at the Montreal International Jazz Festival in 1983...
(1984) - Air Show No. 1Air Show No. 1Air Show No. 1 is an album recorded for the Italian Black Saint label by the improvisational collective New Air featuring Henry Threadgill, Fred Hopkins and Pheeroan akLaff with Cassandra Wilson providing vocals on three selections.-Reception:...
(1986) with Cassandra WilsonCassandra WilsonCassandra Wilson is an American jazz musician, vocalist, songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi. Described by critic Gary Giddins as "a singer blessed with an unmistakable timbre and attack [who has] expanded the playing field" by incorporating country, blues and folk music into her...
With Don Byron
Don Byron
Don Byron is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist. He primarily plays clarinet, but has also used bass clarinet and saxophones....
- Tuskegee ExperimentsTuskegee ExperimentsTuskegee Experiments is the first album as leader by jazz clarinettist Don Byron. Its title refers to the Tuskegee syphilis experiment — the notorious medical experiment conducted around Tuskegee, Alabama, lasting from 1932 to 1972, in which 400 subjects, mainly poor, black sharecroppers,...
(1992)
With Julius Hemphill
Julius Hemphill
Julius Arthur Hemphill was a jazz composer and saxophone player. He performed mainly on alto saxophone; less often soprano and tenor saxophones and flute.-Biography:...
- One AtmosphereOne AtmosphereOne Atmosphere is an album composed entirely by Texas-born saxophonist Julius Hemphill. Tzadik Records released the album in August 2003. It is considered experimental and avant-garde.-Track listing:# "One Atmosphere" - 9:01# "Savannah Suite" - 8:20...
(2003)
With Amina Claudine Myers
Amina Claudine Myers
Amina Claudine Myers in Blackwell, Arkansas; is an American jazz pianist, organist, vocalist, composer, and musical arranger.-Biography:...
- Song for Mother ESong for Mother ESong for Mother E is the second album by American pianist Amina Claudine Myers featuring performances recorded in 1979 for the Leo label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Michael G. Nastos awarded the album 4½ stars stating "Sounds like a bigger group...
(Leo RecordsLeo RecordsLeo Records is an English jazz record label, which releases Russian jazz in addition to material from American and British musicians.Leo Records was founded in 1979 by Leo Feigin , a Russian immigrant to Britain...
, 1979)
With Mal Waldron
Mal Waldron
Malcolm Earl Waldron was an American jazz and world music pianist and composer, born in New York City.Like his contemporaries, Waldron's roots lie chiefly in the hard bop and post-bop genres of the New York club scene of the 1950s; but with time, he gravitated more towards free jazz and composition...
- My Dear FamilyMy Dear FamilyMy Dear Family is an album by jazz pianist Mal Waldron recorded in 1993 and released on the Evidence label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Matt Collar states "this is a superbly performed album by stellar, world-class musicians and should please most hardcore jazz fans".-Track listing:#...
(Evidence, 1993)