East New York Ensemble de Music

Bilal Abdurahman's East New York Ensemble de Music emerged out of the fertile, cross-fertilizing community of Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn , where African, West Indian & black American cultures converged. This rare 1974 disc, originally issued on Folkways, is back in print for the first time in nearly 30 years and what a gem it is! At The Helm is a gorgeously careening collection of indo-jazz that draws heavily on the near and far eastern sounds of Turkey, Korea, North Africa, India and China and threads them into a distinctively forceful Black Jazz idiom. In his lifetime, Bilal had always referred to this meld as as a kind of ìBlack Magical Musicî and the tight, energetic compositions on this unsung masterpiece only supports the elevated, otherworldly claims. Take one listen to their rendition of Freddie Hubbard's beautiful 13 minute epic, ìSun Flowerî, and you'll hear why this is a must for fans of rare groove & spiritual black jazz. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.