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2006-04-07
7:30PM
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Produced in Association with JILL NEWMAN PRODUCTIONS.
"A timelessness with context; everything he plays feels familiar, with roots linked to a distinct time and place, whether it be the Mississippi Delta in 1934 or Times Square circa 1971"
- Phil Gallo, Billboard
(Olu Dara's) dark, commanding voice, like the strong current of the Mississippi, winds its way through all these songs, baptizing them with the blues."
- Time Magazine |
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FEATURING:
Olu Dara - cornet, guitar
Kwatei Jones-Quartey - guitar
Coster Massamba - percussion
Alonzo Gardner - bass
Larry Johnson - drums |
Although he didn't record under his own name until 1998, OLU DARA enjoyed a reputation and performances with the David Murray Quartet and the Henry Threadgill Sextet revealed Dara to be a daring, roots-bound soloist, with a modern imagination and a big burnished tone in the style of Louis Armstrong and Roy Eldridge.
Born Charles Jones, Dara moved to New York in 1963, but did not perform publicly until the early '70s, when he became a part of the city's loft jazz culture. By that time, he had changed his name to the Yoruba Olu Dara. Besides his work with Murray and Threadgill, Dara also played with Hamiet Bluiett, James "Blood" Ulmer, and Don Pullen, among others.
With his first album under his own name, 1998's In the World: From Natchez to New York, Dara revealed another aspect of his musical personality: the leader and singer of a band immersed in African-American tradition, playing a tropical mix of blues, folk, and jazz, with tinges of funk, African popular music and reggae. Rapper Nas (Nasir Jones) is Dara's son. He encouraged his father to record the music he was playing with his band, and had a guest-appearance on a track on In the World. Dara played the trumpet on the track "Life's A Bitch" from Nas's debut album Illmatic in 1994. In 2004, his vocals were featured on Nas's single "Bridging the Gap", from his album Street's Disciple.
Neighborhoods, with guest appearances by Dr John and Cassandra Wilson, followed in a similar vein in 2001. The record was only tangentially related to his free jazz work. The music drew upon country-blues and African-American folk traditions. In addition to playing trumpet and cornet, Dara composed all of the tunes, sung, and accompanied himself on guitar.
--Chris Kelsey, All Music Guide |
