Idris Muhammad
Encyclopedia
Idris Muhammad is a jazz
drummer
. He changed his name in the 1960s upon his conversion to Islam
. He is known for his funk
y playing style. He has released a number of album
s as leader, and has played with a number of jazz legends including Lou Donaldson
, Johnny Griffin
, Pharoah Sanders
and Grover Washington, Jr.
He has been touring and recording with pianist Ahmad Jamal
since 1995. At 15 years-old, one of Muhammad's earliest recorded sessions as a drummer was on Fats Domino
's 1956 hit "Blueberry Hill
".
In 1966, he married Dolores "LaLa" Brooks (former member of the Crystals
; she converted to Islam
with him and went for a time under the name Sakinah Muhammad). They separated in 1999. Together, they have two sons and two daughters. Muhammad is an endorser of Istanbul Agop Cymbals
. who issued a 22" Idris Muhammad Signature Ride in at the 2008 NAMM show in Anaheim, California
.
With Lou Donaldson
With Grant Green
With Benjamin Herman
With Andrew Hill
With Freddie Hubbard
With Bobbi Humphrey
With Ahmad Jamal
With Rodney Jones
With Joe Lovano
With Ernest Ranglin
With Pharaoh Sanders
With John Scofield
With Lonnie Smith
With Leon Spencer
With Randy Weston
With Reuben Wilson
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...
drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
. He changed his name in the 1960s upon his conversion to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. He is known for his funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
y playing style. He has released a number of album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s as leader, and has played with a number of jazz legends including Lou Donaldson
Lou Donaldson
Lou Donaldson is a jazz alto saxophonist. He was born in Badin, North Carolina. He is best known for his soulful, bluesy approach to playing the alto saxophone, although in his formative years he was, as many were of the bebop era, heavily influenced by Charlie Parker.His first recordings were...
, Johnny Griffin
Johnny Griffin
John Arnold Griffin III was an American bop and hard bop tenor saxophonist.- Early life and career :Griffin studied music at DuSable High School in Chicago under Walter Dyett, starting out on clarinet before moving on to oboe and then alto sax...
, Pharoah Sanders
Pharoah Sanders
Pharoah Sanders is a Grammy Award–winning American jazz saxophonist.Saxophonist Ornette Coleman once described him as "probably the best tenor player in the world." Emerging from John Coltrane's groups of the mid-60s Sanders is known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on...
and Grover Washington, Jr.
Grover Washington, Jr.
Grover Washington, Jr. was an American jazz-funk / soul-jazz saxophonist. Along with George Benson, John Klemmer, David Sanborn, Bob James, Chuck Mangione, Herb Alpert, and Spyro Gyra, he is considered by many to be one of the founders of the smooth jazz genre.He wrote some of his material and...
He has been touring and recording with pianist Ahmad Jamal
Ahmad Jamal
Ahmad Jamal is an innovative and influential American jazz pianist, composer, and educator. According to Stanley Crouch, Jamal is second in importance in the development of jazz after 1945 only to Charlie Parker...
since 1995. At 15 years-old, one of Muhammad's earliest recorded sessions as a drummer was on Fats Domino
Fats Domino
Antoine Dominique "Fats" Domino, Jr. is an American R&B and rock and roll pianist and singer-songwriter. He was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Creole was his first language....
's 1956 hit "Blueberry Hill
Blueberry Hill (song)
"Blueberry Hill" is a popular song published in 1940 best remembered for its 1950s rock n' roll version by Fats Domino. The music was written by Vincent Rose, the lyrics by Al Lewis. It was recorded six times in 1940...
".
In 1966, he married Dolores "LaLa" Brooks (former member of the Crystals
The Crystals
The Crystals are an American vocal group based in New York, considered one of the defining acts of the girl group era of the first half of the 1960s. Their 1961–1964 chart hits, including "Uptown", "He's a Rebel", "Da Doo Ron Ron " and "Then He Kissed Me", featured three successive female lead...
; she converted to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
with him and went for a time under the name Sakinah Muhammad). They separated in 1999. Together, they have two sons and two daughters. Muhammad is an endorser of Istanbul Agop Cymbals
Istanbul Agop Cymbals
Istanbul Agop Cymbals is cymbal producer based in the Republic of Turkey.Its products are well respected for their unique sound, which is formed by the method and the alloy used, the formula of which is known only to the owners of the firm, Arman and Sarkis Tomurcuk...
. who issued a 22" Idris Muhammad Signature Ride in at the 2008 NAMM show in Anaheim, California
Anaheim, California
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...
.
As leader
- 1970: Black Rhythm Revolution (Prestige RecordsPrestige RecordsPrestige Records was a jazz record label founded in 1949 by Bob Weinstock. The company was located at 203 South Washington Avenue in Bergenfield, New Jersey, and recorded hundreds of albums by many of the leading jazz musicians of the day, sometimes issuing them under the names of several...
) - 1971: Peace & Rhythm (Prestige)
- 1974: Power of Soul
- 1976: House of the Rising SunHouse of the Rising Sun (album)-Track listing:#"The House Of The Rising Sun"#"Baia "#"Hard To Face The Music"#"Theme For New York City"#"Sudan"#"Hey Pock A-Way"#"Pipe Stem" #"I Know You Don't Want Me No More"...
- 1977: Turn This Mutha OutTurn This Mutha OutTurn This Mutha Out is an album by Idris Muhammad.-Track listing:# "Could Heaven Ever Be Like This" – 8:37# "Camby Bolongo" – 3:50# "Turn This Mutha Out" – 6:50...
- 1977: Could Heaven Ever Be Like This
- 1978: Boogie to the Top
- 1978: You Ain't No Friend of Mine
- 1979: Fox Huntin
- 1980: Kabsha
- 1980: Make It Count
- 1992: My Turn
- 1998: Right Now
As sideman
With Nat AdderleyNat Adderley
Nathaniel Adderley was an American jazz cornet and trumpet player who played in the hard bop and soul jazz genres. He was the brother of saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderley....
- Calling Out LoudCalling Out Loud-Track listing:# "Biafra" - 6:32# "Haifa" - 4:57# "St. M" - 3:37# "Grey Moss" - 3:43# "Nobody Knows" - 5:53# "Comin' Out the Shadows" - 5:09# "Ivan's Holiday" - 3:14...
(CTICTI RecordsCTI Records was a jazz record label founded in 1967 by producer/A&R manager Creed Taylor. Initially, CTI was a subsidiary of A&M Records, but the label went independent in 1970...
, 1968)
With Lou Donaldson
Lou Donaldson
Lou Donaldson is a jazz alto saxophonist. He was born in Badin, North Carolina. He is best known for his soulful, bluesy approach to playing the alto saxophone, although in his formative years he was, as many were of the bebop era, heavily influenced by Charlie Parker.His first recordings were...
- Fried BuzzardFried BuzzardFried Buzzard is a live album by jazz saxophonist Lou Donaldson recorded at the Bon Ton Club in Buffalo, NY for the Cadet label in 1965 and performed Donaldson with Bill Hardman, Billy Gardner, Warren Stephens, and Leo Morris....
(CadetCadet RecordsCadet Records was started as Argo Records in 1955 as the jazz subsidiary of Chess Records. Argo changed its name in 1965 to Cadet to avoid confusion with the similarly named label in the UK...
, 1965) - Blowing in the WindBlowing in the Wind (album)Blowing in the Wind is an album by jazz saxophonist Lou Donaldson recorded for the Cadet label in 1966 and performed by Donaldson with Herman Foster, Sam Jones, Leo Morris and Richard Landrum....
(Cadet, 1966) - Lou Donaldson At His BestLou Donaldson At His BestLou Donaldson At His Best is an album by jazz saxophonist Lou Donaldson recorded for the Cadet label in 1966 and performed by Donaldson with Herman Foster, Sam Jones, Leo Morris, and Richard Landrum....
(Cadet, 1966) - Alligator BogalooAlligator BogalooAlligator Bogaloo is an album by jazz saxophonist Lou Donaldson recorded for the Blue Note label in 1967 and featuring Donaldson with Melvin Lastie, Lonnie Smith, George Benson, and Leo Morris....
(Blue NoteBlue Note RecordsBlue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
, 1967) - Mr. Shing-A-LingMr. Shing-A-LingMr. Shing-A-Ling is an album by jazz saxophonist Lou Donaldson recorded for the Blue Note label in 1967 and featuring Donaldson with Blue Mitchell , Lonnie Smith, Jimmy Ponder, and Leo Morris....
(Blue Note, 1967) - Midnight CreeperMidnight CreeperMidnight Creeper is an album by jazz saxophonist Lou Donaldson recorded for the Blue Note label in 1968 and featuring Donaldson with Blue Mitchell, Lonnie Smith, George Benson, and Leo Morris....
(Blue Note, 1968) - Say It Loud!Say It Loud!Say It Loud! is an album by jazz saxophonist Lou Donaldson recorded for the Blue Note label in 1968 and featuring Donaldson with Blue Mitchell , Charles Earland, Jimmy Ponder, and Leo Morris....
(Blue Note, 1968) - Hot DogHot Dog (album)Hot Dog is an album by jazz saxophonist Lou Donaldson recorded for the Blue Note label in 1969 and featuring Donaldson with Ed Williams , Charles Earland, Melvin Sparks, and Leo Morris....
(Blue Note, 1969) - Everything I Play is FunkyEverything I Play Is FunkyEverything I Play is Funky is an album by jazz saxophonist Lou Donaldson recorded for the Blue Note label featuring Donaldson with Blue Mitchell, Lonnie Smith, Melvin Sparks, Jimmy Lewis and Leo Morris and two tracks with Ed Williams and Charles Earland replacing Mitchell & Smith.The album was...
(Blue Note, 1970) - Pretty ThingsPretty Things (album)Pretty Things is an album by jazz saxophonist Lou Donaldson recorded for the Blue Note label featuring Donaldson with Blue Mitchell, Leon Spencer, Ted Dunbar, and Idris Muhammad and one track with Lonnie Smith and Melvin Sparks replacing Spencer & Dunbar and Jimmy Lewis added.The album was awarded...
(Blue Note, 1970) - The ScorpionThe Scorpion (album)The Scorpion: Live at the Cadillac Club is an live album by jazz saxophonist Lou Donaldson recorded in Newark, New Jersey in 1970 for the Blue Note label featuring a performance by Donaldson with Fred Ballard, Leon Spencer, Melvin Sparks, and Idris Muhammad.The album was awarded 2 stars in an...
(Blue Note, 1970) - CosmosCosmos (Lou Donaldson album)Cosmos is an album by jazz saxophonist Lou Donaldson recorded for the Blue Note label featuring Donaldson with Ed Williams, Leon Spencer, Melvin Sparks, Jerry Jemmott, Idris Muhammad, and Ray Armando, with vocals by Mildred Brown, Rosalyn Brown, and Naomi Thomas, arranged by Jimmy Briggs.The album...
(Blue Note 1971) - Sweet Poppa LouSweet Poppa LouSweet Popp Lou is an album by jazz saxophonist Lou Donaldson, his first recording for the Muse label, featuring Donaldson's quartet with Herman Foster, Calvin Hill, Idris Muhammad, and additional percussion on three tracks by Ralph Dorsey....
(MuseMuse RecordsMuse Records was an American record label which released jazz and blues music.Muse was founded in the early 1970s by Joe Fields, who had previously worked as an executive for Prestige Records in the 1960s...
, 1981)
With Grant Green
Grant Green
Grant Green was a jazz guitarist and composer....
- Carryin' OnCarryin' OnCarryin' On is an album by American jazz guitarist Grant Green featuring performances recorded in 1969 and released on the Blue Note label. The album marked Green's return to the Blue Note label.-Reception:...
(Blue Note, 1969) - Green Is BeautifulGreen Is BeautifulGreen Is Beautiful is an album by American jazz guitarist Grant Green featuring performances recorded in 1970 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:...
(Blue Note, 1970) - Alive!Alive!Alive! is Kiss' fourth album and is considered their breakthrough, as well as a landmark for live albums. Released on September 10, 1975, the double-disc set contains live versions of selected tracks from their first three studio albums, Kiss, Hotter Than Hell, and Dressed to Kill...
(Blue Note, 1970)
With Benjamin Herman
- Get In (1999)
With Andrew Hill
Andrew Hill
Andrew Hill was an American jazz pianist and composer.Hill is recognized as one of the most important innovators of jazz piano in the 1960s...
- Grass Roots (1968 [2000])
With Freddie Hubbard
Freddie Hubbard
Frederick Dewayne "Freddie" Hubbard was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known primarily for playing in the bebop, hard bop and post bop styles from the early 1960s and on...
- New ColorsNew ColorsNew Colors is an album by jazz musician Freddie Hubbard recorded in 2000 and released on the Hip Bop Essence label in 2001.-Track listing:# "One of Another Kind" - 8:00# "Blue Spirits" - 9:03# "Blues for Miles" - 6:31# "Dizzy's Connotations" - 8:43...
(Hip Bop Essence 2001)
With Bobbi Humphrey
Bobbi Humphrey
Barbara Ann Humphrey is an American jazz flautist and singer who plays fusion, jazz-funk and soul-jazz styles. Bobbi Humphrey has performed for audiences around the world....
- Flute InFlute InFlute In is the debut album by American jazz flautist Bobbi Humphrey recorded in 1971 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Andrew Hamilton awarded the album 4 stars stating "Bobbi displays dexterity and power throughout her coming out, mainstream LP".-Track...
(Blue Note, 1971)
With Ahmad Jamal
Ahmad Jamal
Ahmad Jamal is an innovative and influential American jazz pianist, composer, and educator. According to Stanley Crouch, Jamal is second in importance in the development of jazz after 1945 only to Charlie Parker...
- The Essence of Ahmad Jamal, Pt 1 (1994)
- Big Byrd: The Essence, Pt. 2 (Dreyfus, 1997)
- Nature: The Essence, Part III (Dreyfus, 1998)
- Picture Perfect (2000)
- Ahmad Jamal 70th Birthday (2000)
- In Search of Momentum (Dreyfus, 2002)
- After Fajr (Dreyfus, 2005)
- It's Magic (Dreyfus, 2008)
With Rodney Jones
- Soul Manifesto (1991)
With Joe Lovano
Joe Lovano
Joseph Salvatore "Joe" Lovano is a post bop jazz saxophonist, alto clarinetist, flautist, and drummer. Since the late 1980s, Lovano has been one of the world's premiere tenor saxophone players, earning a Grammy award and several nods on Down Beat magazine's critics' and readers' polls...
- Friendly FireFriendly Fire (Joe Lovano & Greg Osby album)Friendly Fire is an album by the American jazz saxophonists Joe Lovano and Greg Osby recorded in 1998 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:...
with Greg OsbyGreg OsbyGreg Osby is an American jazz saxophonist who plays mainly in the free jazz, free funk and M-Base idioms.-Biography:Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Osby studied at Howard University, where he majored in Jazz Studies, and then at the Berklee College of Music, with Andy McGhee...
(Blue Note, 1998) - Flights of Fancy: Trio Fascination Edition TwoFlights of Fancy: Trio Fascination Edition TwoFLights of Fancy: Trio Fascination: Edition Two is an album by the American jazz saxophonist Joe Lovano recorded in 2000 and released on the Blue Note label. The album is a sequel to Lovano's Trio Fascination: Edition One .-Reception:...
(Blue Note, 2000)
With Ernest Ranglin
Ernest Ranglin
Ernest Ranglin O.D. is a Jamaican guitarist and composer. Best known for his session work at the famed Studio One, Ranglin helped give birth to the ska genre in the late 1950s...
- Below the Bassline (Island RecordsIsland RecordsIsland Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
, 1998)
With Pharaoh Sanders
- Journey to the One (Theresa, 1980)
- Heart is a Melody (Theresa, 1982)
- Live (Theresa, 1982)
- Shukuru (Theresa, 1985)
- Africa (Timeless, 1987)
With John Scofield
John Scofield
John Scofield , often referred to as "Sco," is an American jazz guitarist and composer, who has played and collaborated with Miles Davis, Dave Liebman, Joe Henderson, Charles Mingus, Joey Defrancesco, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell, Pat Martino, Mavis Staples, Phil Lesh, Billy Cobham,...
- Groove Elation (1995)
With Lonnie Smith
Lonnie Smith (jazz musician)
Dr. Lonnie Smith is a jazz Hammond B3 organist and pianist.-Biography:He was born in Lackawanna, New York, into a family with a vocal group and radio program. Smith says that his mother was a major influence on him musically, as she introduced him to gospel, classical, and jazz music...
- Turning PointTurning Point (Lonnie Smith album)Turning Point is the second album by American organist Lonnie Smith recorded in 1969 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine awarded the album 3 stars and stated "While the more adventurous elements of Turning Point make for an intriguing...
, (1969)
With Leon Spencer
Leon Spencer
Leon Spencer is an American acid jazz / soul jazz organist born in Houston, Texas, in 1945. He played piano with David Newman, and later organ with Melvin Sparks....
- Sneak Preview (Prestige RecordsPrestige RecordsPrestige Records was a jazz record label founded in 1949 by Bob Weinstock. The company was located at 203 South Washington Avenue in Bergenfield, New Jersey, and recorded hundreds of albums by many of the leading jazz musicians of the day, sometimes issuing them under the names of several...
, 1970) - Louisiana Slim (Prestige, 1971)
With Randy Weston
Randy Weston
Randy Weston , is an American jazz pianist and composer, of Jamaican parentage.-Biography:Weston studied classical piano as a child. After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, he ran a restaurant that was frequented by many of the leading bebop musicians...
- Spirits of Our AncestorsSpirits of Our AncestorsSpirits Of Our Ancestors is an album by pianist, Randy Weston, and was recorded in 1991. While all of the compositions were penned by Weston himself, the music on the album is more specifically a collaborative arranging effort between Weston and arranger Melba Liston...
(Verve, 1991)
With Reuben Wilson
Reuben Wilson
Reuben Wilson is a jazz organist. He performs soul jazz and acid jazz, and is best known for his title track "Got To Get Your Own"He was born in Mounds, Oklahoma and his family moved to Pasadena when he was 5....
- Love BugLove Bug (Reuben Wilson album)Love Bug is the second album by American organist Reuben Wilson recorded in 1969 and released on the Blue Note label. The CD reissue added one bonus track.-Reception:...
(Blue Note, 1969)