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Ahmed Abdul-Malik

Bassist Ahmed Abdul-Malik was one of the first musicians to introduce Arabic music into jazz and the first to use the oud, a pear-shaped, traditional Middle Eastern stringed instrument similar to a lute as a jazz instrument. He was born on January 30th 1927 to Sudanese parents in Brooklyn and grew up in the borough’s Arab neighborhood. According the most recent edition of the Rough Guide to Jazz he did not change his name to Ahmed Abdul-Malik in the mid- 50s but was given that name at birth. He started studying music at age 7; first violin then bass, piano and even tuba. His first jobs as a musician were when he was still a teenager and included symphony orchestras and different ethnic weddings. In the mid 1940s he was introduced to the jazz community through his friend Randy Weston and played bass in jazz and r&b bands. His most famous gig was as Thelonious Monk’s bassist. He started experimenting with the oud in the mid 50s and recorded on it with Johnny Griffin and with John Coltrane. He also cut a few records as a leader where he played the instrument. He also appeared on TV shows both as a bop bassist and with his own group playing Middle East influenced jazz on the oud. He headlined the first major African jazz festival in Morocco in 1972 and also toured Latin America. From the 1970s he was on faculty at NYU and at Brooklyn College. In 1984 BMI recognized his work by giving him Pioneer in Jazz. He died on October 2nd 1993 in Long Branch New Jersey. Among his followers are such modern day luminaries as Rabih Abou- Khalil and Anwar Brahim.

Thelonious Monk Quartet: Live Five Spot 1958 Revisited

Read "Live Five Spot 1958 Revisited" reviewed by Chris May

by Chris May
December 10, 2022

What are the first two names that come to mind on reading the phrase 'Thelonious Monk's saxophonist'? Chances are they will be John Coltrane or Charlie Rouse. The runner-up could be Sonny Rollins and somewhere further down the field might be Johnny Griffin. Griffin deserves to move up the list. The hard blowing, express velocity, R&B-schooled tenor player starting gigging with Monk in 1948. In 1955, he was the Monk quartet's saxophonist during a one-week residency in ...

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Album Review

Ahmed Abdul-Malik: Jazz Sounds of Africa

Read "Jazz Sounds of Africa" reviewed by Elliott Simon

by Elliott Simon
August 25, 2003

A top sideman with Monk and Herbie Mann, bassist Ahmed Abdul-Malik must have realized that if he remained parochial it would result in complacency. Early in his career, he chose to explore his Sudanese roots and an association with pianist Randy Weston, known for his own Afro-Jazz blending, perhaps nourished this inclination. During these inquiries, he mastered the oud (a stringed instrument for the Arab world which is the equivalent in popularity to the guitar and piano combined for us ...

374

Album Review

Ahmed Abdul-Malik: Jazz Sounds of Africa

Read "Jazz Sounds of Africa" reviewed by David Rickert

by David Rickert
April 21, 2003

Ahmed Abdul-Malik was a resourceful and versatile bassist capable of fitting in with the groups of Thelonious Monk, Herbie Mann, and others. On his few recordings as a leader, he dove head first into his fascination with African music, documented on the two early '60s sessions collected here on Jazz Sounds of Africa.

Other musicians with similar aspirations, such as Coltrane, simply fused African rhythms into a jazz context. Abdul-Malik created tunes that work solely with the ...

Recording

Monday Recommendation: Ahmed Abdul-Malik

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
July 29, 2014

Ahmed Abdul-Malik, Spellbound (Status) Of Sudanese heritage, the bassist Ahmed Abdul-Malik (1927-1993) was born Jonathan Timms in Brooklyn. After working with Art Blakey and Thelonious Monk, among others, Abdul-Malik studied music of other cultures. He was among the first to incorporate Middle Eastern and Indian influences into jazz. Except for a straight-ahead blues, this 1965 album consists of themes from movies: “Spellbound,” “Never on Sunday,” “Body and Soul” and “Delilah.” Sudanese oud player Hamza el Din enhances the melding of ...
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