Faruq Z. Bey
Encyclopedia
Faruq Z. Bey is a jazz
saxophonist and composer
from Detroit, Michigan
, USA. He is best known for his work with Griot Galaxy
. Griot Galaxy played hard free jazz
with distinct compositions, often by Bey
. Odd meters and polyrhythms were a frequent feature of the group's tunes, which would give way to free sections. Originally started in 1972, Griot Galaxy settled into its most stable line-up around 1980, when Bey was joined by saxophonists David McMurray and Anthony Holland, as well as bassist Jaribu Shahid and drummer Tani Tabal. Popular in Detroit for a free jazz band (often pulling audiences of a few hundred people), Griot toured Europe
in the mid-1980s and was at the height of its international acclaim when Bey was in a serious motorcycle accident that left him in a coma
.
Almost a decade passed before Bey returned to performing. He re-emerged with an all woodwind ensemble called The Conspiracy Winds Ensemble. He began to play in Speaking in Tongues and Hakim Jami's Street Band. He joined forces with The Northwoods Improvisers, who have devoted several releases to Bey's music. His frequent collaborators, saxophonists Michael Carey and Skeeter Shelton, join him on most of the Northwoods Improviser's recordings. He also currently plays in Kindred – a quartet with Kennith Green, Kevin Callaway and Joel Peterson – and in Odu Afrobeat Orchestra.
Some of his most noted releases are: Kins, Opus Krampus and Live at the DIA with Griot Galaxy and Auzar and Ashirai Pattern with The Northwoods Improvisers.
Bey has published two books of poetry, Year of the Iron Sheep and Etudes in Wanton Nesses, in addition to a theory book Toward a "Ratio"nal Aesthetic (1989).
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...
saxophonist and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
from Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, USA. He is best known for his work with Griot Galaxy
Griot Galaxy
Griot Galaxy was an avant-garde jazz band led by Detroit saxophonist and poet Faruq Z. Bey. The band was founded in 1972 with drummer Tani Tabbal, bassist Jaribu Shahid, and saxophonists Bey, Anthony Holland and David McMurray. Their first recorded appearance is often cited as coming from a 1976...
. Griot Galaxy played hard free jazz
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
with distinct compositions, often by Bey
Bey
Bey is a title for chieftain, traditionally applied to the leaders of small tribal groups. Accoding to some sources, the word "Bey" is of Turkish language In historical accounts, many Turkish, other Turkic and Persian leaders are titled Bey, Beg, Bek, Bay, Baig or Beigh. They are all the same word...
. Odd meters and polyrhythms were a frequent feature of the group's tunes, which would give way to free sections. Originally started in 1972, Griot Galaxy settled into its most stable line-up around 1980, when Bey was joined by saxophonists David McMurray and Anthony Holland, as well as bassist Jaribu Shahid and drummer Tani Tabal. Popular in Detroit for a free jazz band (often pulling audiences of a few hundred people), Griot toured Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
in the mid-1980s and was at the height of its international acclaim when Bey was in a serious motorcycle accident that left him in a coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
.
Almost a decade passed before Bey returned to performing. He re-emerged with an all woodwind ensemble called The Conspiracy Winds Ensemble. He began to play in Speaking in Tongues and Hakim Jami's Street Band. He joined forces with The Northwoods Improvisers, who have devoted several releases to Bey's music. His frequent collaborators, saxophonists Michael Carey and Skeeter Shelton, join him on most of the Northwoods Improviser's recordings. He also currently plays in Kindred – a quartet with Kennith Green, Kevin Callaway and Joel Peterson – and in Odu Afrobeat Orchestra.
Some of his most noted releases are: Kins, Opus Krampus and Live at the DIA with Griot Galaxy and Auzar and Ashirai Pattern with The Northwoods Improvisers.
Bey has published two books of poetry, Year of the Iron Sheep and Etudes in Wanton Nesses, in addition to a theory book Toward a "Ratio"nal Aesthetic (1989).
External links
- Faruq Z. Bey on Detroit JazzStageDetroit JazzStageDetroit JazzStage is a monthly podcast celebrating Detroit, Michigan's amazing array of Jazz musicians. Detroit Jazzstage receives approximately 20,000 downloads per month and is consistently the number one rated independent jazz podcast. They have charted as high as the 22nd most popular music...