25. ABORIGINAL MS

Aboriginal Music Society, Untitled #2

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• Idris Art Bennett – reeds
• Ali K Abuwi – flute, oboe, drums
• Kasa Allah – piano
• Juma Sultan – bass, percussion
• Harold E. Smith – percussion

The band was at this venue from February 7 through 11 with three performances a night for the stand.

From Robin D.G. Kelley in his article NEW MONASTERY: MONK AND THE JAZZ AVANT-GARDE:

“Although the avant-garde was by no means united on political issues or even uniformly interested in politics, some of the most vocal proponents identified with the Black Freedom movement and/or were organizing to fight racism, exploitation, and inequity in the music industry itself. For many black musicians of the 1950s and early 1960s, both inside and out of the avant-garde, the emancipation of form coincided with the movement for African freedom. The convergence of these political and aesthetic forces, combined with a search for spiritual alternatives to Western materialism, led to the formation of collectives such as Abdullah, The Melodic Art-tet, the Aboriginal Music Society, and the Revolutionary Ensemble. The new wave of musicians also formed collectives for economic security, developing structures for cooperative work that anticipated the Black Arts movement’s efforts of the late 1960’s.”

Published in Black Music Research Journal, Sept. 22, 1999