Ethnic Heritage Ensemble

Ethnic Heritage Ensemble was founded in 1973 by percussionist Kahil El'Zabar. Their creative M.O. combines Black American musical styles -- jazz, blues, R&B, funk, and gospel -- with African folk and dance traditions. They've issued nearly two dozen albums on a variety of labels and toured the globe often. The original lineup of El'Zabar, with saxophonist/multi-instrumentalists Edward Wilkerson, Jr. and later, "Light" Henry Huff, issued Three Gentlemen from Chikago in 1981. Trombonist Joseph Bowie joined the trio replacing Huff for 1988's Ancestral Song: Live from Stockholm; Bowie remained until 2005. Chameleon released their U.S. debut, Dance with the Ancestors in 1993. They issued recordings for CIMP and Silkheart, and three albums for Chicago's Delmark label: 1997's The Continuum, 1999's Freedom Jazz Dance, and 2007's Hot 'N' Heavy: Live at the Ascension Loft. Their 35th and 40th anniversary recordings appeared on Chicago's AACM-affiliated Katalyst Entertainment in 2009 and 2014, respectively. They signed to independent Spiritmuse Records for 2019's Be Known: Ancient/Future/Music, 2023's Spirit Gatherer: Tribute to Don Cherry, and Open Me, A Higher Consciousness of Sound and Spirit, the latter in celebration of their 50th anniversary. The Ethnic Heritage Ensemble was formed shortly after percussionist Kahil El'Zabar graduated from the school of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) in 1973, with tenor saxophonist Edward Wilkerson, Jr. They sought to compose and play music that combined contemporary African-American musical styles, including jazz, blues, and R&B, with traditional African instrumentation and rhythms. They often performed as a trio utilizing the talents of AACM saxophonists Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre, and "Light" Henry Huff. While they played in Chicago and New York stateside, they spent the majority of their time touring in Europe. Europeans loved the band's polyrhythmic sound. Ethnic Heritage Ensemble -- as a trio with Huff -- released their debut album, Three Gentlemen from Chikago (sic), on Germany's Moers Music in 1981 and went right back to touring Europe. Impressions, a two-sided improvisation, was released by Italy's Red in 1982. Saxophonist McIntyre replaced Huff on tour and recorded 1984's Welcome for Finnish Leo Records with producer/musician Edward Vesala. Trombonist Joseph Bowie (brother of trumpeter Lester Bowie) had been leading the eclectic Defunkt since 1978. A decade later, he continued to lead them and joined the ranks of Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, where he remained for nearly two decades. His first recorded outing with El'Zabar and Wilkerson was 1988's Ancestral Song: Live from Stockholm. The previous year, the saxophonist founded 8 Bold Souls, who issued their eponymous debut album in 1987. Over the next three years, EHE toured Europe, played jazz festivals in North America, Asia, and Europe, and in off periods worked with their respective outfits -- the percussionist formed the concurrent, ever-evolving Kalil El'Zabar's Ritual Trio, who issued Another Kind of Groove in 1987 (with Billy Bang and Malachi Favors), Sacred Love (with Lester Bowie, Favors, and Raphael Garret) in 1988 and Alika Rising at Leverkusener Jazztage in 1990 with Favors and saxophonist Ari Brown. He also recorded with David Murray and Wadada Leo Smith. In 1990 El'Zabar, Wilkerson and Bowie worked on an album live in studio at ACME Recording in Chicago; they released the session as Hang Tuff for Germany's Open Minds the following year. It was their fifth consecutive release on a European label. 1993 saw their first recording on an American label, Dance with the Ancestors, recorded for Elektra's Chameleon Records. It won exceptional reviews from American jazz critics in addition to their Asian and European counterparts. The trio toured Europe, Asia, and the U.S. in support. Meanwhile, the Kalil El'Zabar's Ritual Trio released Renaissance of the Resistance in 1994, Big Cliff in 1995, and Jitterbug Junction in 1997. In 1997, Wilkerson was replaced by Ernest "Khabeer" Dawkins after the releases of The Continuum (Delmark) and 21st Century Union March (Silkheart). Dawkins made his debut on 1998's Papa's Bounce (CIMP), and 1999's Freedom Jazz Dance (Delmark), that also featured Chicago jazz guitar legend Fareed Haque. The album was lauded for continuing EHE's tradition of making thoroughly modern music filtered through an ancestral spirit. El'Zabar's Ritual Trio was as active as EHE. Between 1999 and 2008, they released Conversations with Archie Shepp, Africa N'da Blues and Ooh Live! with Pharoah Sanders, and Live at the River East Art Center and Big M: A Tribute to Malachi Favors, both on Bang. In 2000, EHE released Ka-Real on Silkheart; it was Bowie's final studio album with the band, although he recorded two studio singles in 2004 -- "Ancestral Song" and "Running in the Streets" -- and played the concert for 2005's 30th Anniversary. In 2007, EHE released Hot 'N' Heavy: Live at the Ascension Loft on Delmark. It showcased new trumpeter Corey Wilkes replacing Bowie, along with hired gun Haque on guitars. 2009's Mama's House Live: 35th Anniversary Project and 2014's Black Is Back (40th Anniversary Project) both appeared from Chicago's AACM-affiliated Katalyst Entertainment label. Ethnic Heritage Ensemble toured relentlessly, and in off hours its members worked sessions and toured as sidemen. They signed with London's Spiritmuse Records in 2018 and released Be Known: Ancient/Future/Music in 2019 as a quartet with Wilkes and El'Zabar, bolstered by baritone saxophonist Alex Harding and cellist Ian Maksin. The percussionist followed quickly with Spirit Groove, leading a quartet with David Murray as featured soloist. In October 2020, during a short break in the pandemic, El'Zabar issued the star-studded America the Beautiful that included guests Hamiet Bluiett and Tomeka Reid, among others, in a program of covers and standards. Two years later, just as EHE reassembled to tour, the Kahil El'Zabar Quartet -- Wilkes, saxophonist Isaiah Collier, and keyboardist Justin Dillard -- released A Time for Healing, and in 2023, Spiritmuse assembled Ethnic Heritage Ensemble with featured guest vocalist Dwight Trible and pianist/composer/multi-instrumentalist David Ornette Cherry to record and release Spirit Gatherer: Tribute to Don Cherry; it received laudatory global notice. In March 2024, EHE celebrated its 50th anniversary by releasing Open Me, A Higher Consciousness of Sound and Spirit. The trio of El'Zabar, Wilkes, and Harding were joined by cellist Ishmael Ali and violinist/violist James Sanders. The track list offered eight El'Zabar originals interspersed with covers of folk songs, and tunes by Miles Davis, Gene McDaniels, and McCoy Tyner. It marked EHE's sixth recording for Spiritmuse in five years.
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