Saturday, June 9, 2012

Faruq Z. Bey

Faruq Z. Bey passed away on June 1st, 2012. I'm reposting this in his honor, and I'm working on some other transcriptions which I will post in the coming weeks.

Faruq Z. Bey - After Death
Originally posted Oct. 20th, 2009

A very influential figure in the history of jazz in Detroit, Bey was the involved with the Tribe collective in the 1970's. He led Griot Galaxy throughout the 1980's, a group which received fairly wide acclaim. The band sounded like a meeting of mid-70's Miles Davis and Sun Ra: brief ostinato-driven compositions giving way to intense modal/free improvisations. This particular piece was an important part of Bey's repertoire, both with Griot Galaxy and later with the Northwoods Improvisers.


The song appears on:

Griot Galaxy - "Opus Krampus" [CD Reissue]
Northwoods Improvisers w/ Faruq Z. Bey - "19 Moons"
Northwoods Improvisers w/ Faruq Z. Bey - "Infa'a"