The Ethnic Heritage Ensemble has been "breaking the habit of boredom and pushing beyond nostalgia into the present" for almost 20 years. Their music fuses traditional African rhythmic and melodic sensibilities with popular African American musical forms. The Ensemble's unique instrumentation – trap drums, African and Latin hand-percussion, saxophone, trombone, digeridoo, bass clarinet and kalimba – endow their music with a warm textural richness and depth. Within a framework of organic, understated compositions, the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble imparts an ancestral wisdom and conjures an energy and sparks rarely encountered in contem-porary music.
In 1976, Kahil El'Zabar, having just graduated from the school of Chicago's legendary Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, teamed up with tenor saxophonist Edward Wilkerson, Jr. Wilkerson has been called "one of the most thoughtful minds in modern experimental music", and is himself the leader of the premier Windy City Octet Eight Bold Souls and the big band Shadow Vignettes. Kahil El'Zabar is an accomplished trap drummer, having worked with acclaimed soul blues and R&B artist Stevie Wonder and Donny Hathaway, and jazz greats from Cannonball Adderley to David Murray. El'Zabar is also a virtuoso kalimba player... more
1. Crumb Puck You Let Slide 06:51
2. Fanfare 09:00
3. Lover Man 03:25
4. How the Cow See Cirrus 11:45
5. Missing Miles 05:03
6. Burundi 10:08
7. Love Outside of Dreams 06:28
8. Unlisted 07:41
9. Dear Albert 09:04
10. Procession 03:14
Joseph Bowie trombone, miscellaneous percussion
Edward Wilkerson tenor saxophone, alto clarinet, miscellaneous percussion
Kahil El'Zabar earth drums, sanza, miscellaneous percussion, vocals
