Maulawi Nururdin - Self Titled U.S. LP Strata Original
£
128
$
170
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Description
Definite original pressing of Maulawi - Self Titled U.S. LP on Strata Records.
A: Street Rap (6:15), Root in 7/4 Plus (5:41), Eltiton (8:20)
B: Naima (7:02), Sphinx Rabbit (12:26) All Compositions by Maulawi Nururdin and Joyce Major except for “Naima” composed by John Coltrane.
Condition
Vinyl is in EX++ condition with virtually no marks or scuffs but has a mislabeled B-Side as an earlier Strata LP Sphere. Does definitly contain the tracklisting above. Sleeve is in excellent condition also still in shrink wrap!
Writes Andy Freivogel at Dusted Reviews:
Nururdin, himself a multi-instrumentalist, composer and band leader, places his own thumbprint high atop the mix with his sax playing, a sweet, razor-thin layer of liberation to the often dense, and sometimes dark, journeys in sound. Stacks of percussion drive the body of this work, buoyed by the staccato thrust of Rufus Reed's bass work, and every song on Maulawi jerks the listener sideways and back again with shifts in key, time and timbre.The opening track, “Street Rap,” forges a deep swinging funk with the overheated static of a summer evening in a Chicago 'hood; neighbors and passersby engage in both friendly conversation and in-yo-face debate (“you act like I'm blind in one eye and can't see out the other!”) as the band responds with Rhodes counterpunches and warped clavier jabs. The balance of inner jazz calm and shimmering facade of aural chaos occasionally recall the squawking abandon of Miles' Evil Live, but the undying groove plots closer to the same Chi-town vibe that permeates some of Curtis Mayfield's work from the roughly the same era and a few years before, including “We're A Winner” and “(Don't Worry) If There's A Hell Below We're All Going To Go.” In the same way Mayfield pushed the ceiling of funk with his reedy, wavering falsetto, Nururdin pushes that end of the spectrum even higher, with vocal arrangements sung by alto Joyce Major (co-composer on nearly all tracks) and soprano Diane Cunningham, adding a virtual jet stream of shrill, but essential and angelic harmony.
Dueling congueros Adam Rudolph (who, interestingly, records now for Soul Jazz under the name Hu Vibrational) and Silas King provide a tense, push-me pull-you foundation of authentic latin rumble. The two percussionists, along with Reed, bassist Al Erick and two drummers, push tracks through multiple changes, exploring Afro-latin rhythms like palo and mambo (“Eltition”), downshifting to a subdued 6/8 clave feel in others, and turning the Coltrane ballad “Naima” almost upside down and celebratory, releasing it from the blues with a blissful samba chorus, featuring the almost flute-like voices of Major and Cunningham. Even when the rhythm section descends into moments of dissonant, fluttering chaos (only at the direction of Maulawi: evidence abounds of this ensemble's unflappable discipline), there's a persistent, shining optimism to the unified voice of the musicians here. Maulawi provides a gritty snapshot of a scrappy ensemble cutting a deep, brooding groove. This is the voice of a gifted composer and bandleader capturing a complex, fearful era without uttering a single word.
Most of the players, like the leader, have faded into obscurity, with the exceptions of percussionist Adam Rudolph (later of the Mandingo Griot Society and, of late, a principal collaborator with Yusef Lateef and leader of his own groups) and the in-demand session bassist Rufus Reid (correct spelling), whose multitude of projects include co-leading Tana Reid with drummer Akira Tana.
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