Мухал Ричард Абрамс: Американдық джаз сазгері мен педагог

American jazz musician and educator (1930–2017)

Muhal Richard Abrams (born Richard Lewis Abrams; September 19, 1930 – October 29, 2017) was an American educator, administrator, composer, arranger, clarinetist, cellist, and jazz pianist in the free jazz medium. He recorded and toured the United States, Canada and Europe with his orchestra, sextet, quartet, duo and as a solo pianist.

Abrams started out "playing all kinds of gigs blues, jazz, stage shows, rhythm and blues, and church socials." His musical abilities earned him jobs working with "everyone from Dexter Gordon and Max Roach to Ruth Brown and Woody Shaw." In the mid 1950s, Abrams was becoming better known as both a pianist and a composer. A strong influence on his direction as a pianist at that time was King Fleming, for whom Abrams also composed and arranged. Another local man, William E. Jackson, helped Abrams develop his arranging and orchestration skills. Abrams co founded a quintet named the MJT+3, and recorded with them in 1957, resulting in Daddy O Presents MJT+3, which contained several of his compositions. Abrams also became more involved in investigating the "occult arts" around 1959 or 1960, and joined the Rosicrucians. Abrams's son, Richard Jr., was at high school in the early 1960s. Still eager for self development, Abrams was introduced to, and then acquired, books on musical composition written by Joseph Schillinger. In the books, Abrams found topics that resonated, including the incorporation of spirituality into music. At a more practical level, the pianist reported that "The Schillinger stuff taught me to break things back down into raw material – where it came from – and then, on to the whole idea of a personal or individual approach to composition." Abrams was able to apply his learning after organising young musicians in the area into an ensemble that rehearsed at the C&C Lounge in Chicago from 1961. This became known as the Experimental Band, and "became a forum for Abrams to test his new, Schillinger influenced compositional palette." Around 1963, Abrams was part of a trio with bassist Donald Rafael Garrett and drummer Steve McCall. The pianist lived with his wife, Peggy, in a small basement apartment on South Evans Avenue. and featured the recording debuts of saxophonist Anthony Braxton, violinist Leroy Jenkins, and bassist Leonard Jones. Rather than playing in smoky night clubs, AACM members often rented out theaters and lofts where they could perform for attentive and open minded audiences. "Abrams took the name Muhal in 1967. Interviewed by the French magazine Jazz in 1973, he said that the word, its origin unclear, means 'number one'."

In the 1970s, Abrams composed for symphony orchestras, string quartets, solo piano, voice, and big bands in addition to making a series of larger ensemble recordings that included harp and accordion. In the early 1970s, his big band had a weekly concert at the Transitions East performance space in Chicago. Abrams formed a sextet from other AACM members in 1972. The other musicians were Reggie Willis on bass, Steve McCall on drums, and Kalaparusha Difda, Wallace McMillan, and Henry Threadgill on various woodwind and saxophone instruments. With this band, Abrams had his first international concerts, playing the Berlin Jazz Festival in 1973. He had a successful solo concert at the Montreaux Jazz Festival the following year, as well as touring Europe with the Art Ensemble of Chicago. During this time, Abrams recorded extensively under his own name (frequently on the Black Saint label), and as a sideman for musicians such as Marion Brown (Sweet Earth Flying, 1974), Anthony Braxton (Duets 1976, 1976), Roscoe Mitchell (Roscoe Mitchell Quartet, 1976), and Chico Freeman (Morning Prayer, 1976, and Chico, 1977). He served as composer and wrote the theme for the 1970 drama series Bird of the Iron Feather, the first all Black television soap opera started by Richard Durham. Abrams left Chicago for New York in 1976. After initially living with other musicians, he moved his family there the following year. The move of city was partly to be at the centre of musical activity, and partly for financial reasons. Initially, there were very few concerts, but he garnered press attention and was able to record annually with Black Saint. Experience in writing extended compositions also helped Abrams and other AACM musicians in New York: "The compositions themselves showed that they were outside of the mainstream of jazz, and notice was taken by classical people. You can get access to these [classical music] ensembles, and it started to happen." In the late 1970s, Abrams was also part of the jazz peer review panels for the National Endowment for the Arts. "As a Chicagoan who was identified with experimental music, yet who was respected by the ancien regime, Abrams was uniquely positioned to take a leading role in guiding the broad changes in both the demographics and the aesthetic directions of the panels that gradually took place." His 1 OQA+19 "juxtaposed complex written passages with propulsive rhythms"; and Lifea Blinec "presented multi instrumentalism, text sound, and electronic textures." He was involved in the local Loft Jazz scene in New York. In 1982, he presented an orchestral work at that year's New Music America festival in Chicago. He also helped set up the New York Chapter of the AACM, which first presented concerts in the city in 1982.

In 1990 Abrams won the Jazzpar Prize, an annual Danish prize within jazz. Abrams received a 1997 Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists Award. In 2005, the fortieth anniversary of the founding of the AACM, some of Abrams's solo and ensemble pieces were presented by the organization in New York. In May 2009 the National Endowment for the Arts announced that Abrams would be one of the recipients of the 2010 NEA Jazz Masters Award. In June 2010, Abrams was given the Lifetime Achievement Award by New York City's premier jazz festival, known as the Vision Festival. Abrams died at his home in Manhattan, at the age of 87. His daughter, Richarda, became an actress and singer.

He is a widely influential artist, having played sides for many musicians early in his career, releasing important recordings as a leader, and writing classical works such as his "String Quartet No. 2", which was performed by the Kronos Quartet, on November 22, 1985, at the Carnegie Recital Hall in New York.

Year recordedTitleLabelNotes1967Levels and Degrees of LightDelmarkWith Anthony Braxton (alto sax), Maurice McIntyre (tenor sax), Leroy Jenkins (violin), Gordon Emmanuel (vibraphone), Charles Clark (bass), Leonard Jones (bass), Thurman Barker (drums), Penelope Taylor (vocals), David Moore (vocals)1969Young at Heart/Wise in TimeDelmarkOne track solo piano; one track quintet, with Henry Threadgill (alto sax), Leo Smith (trumpet, flugelhorn), Lester Lashley (bass), Thurman Baker (drums)1972Things to Come from Those Now GoneDelmarkOne track sextet, with Wallace McMillan (alto sax, flute), Edwin Daugherty (alto sax, tenor sax), Reggie Willis (bass), Wilbur Campbell (drums), Steve McCall (drums); one track quintet, without McCall; one track duo, with McMillan (alto sax, flute); one track duo with McCall (drums); one track quartet, with Emanuel Cranshaw (vibraphone), Rufus Reid (bass), Ella Jackson (vocals); one track trio, with Richard Brown (tenor sax), Reid (bass); one track trio with Cranshaw (vibraphone), Reid (bass)1975AfrisongIndia Navigation/WhynotSolo piano1975SightsongBlack SaintDuo, with Malachi Favors (bass)19771 OQA+19Black SaintWith Henry Threadgill (tenor sax, alto sax, flute, voice), Anthony Braxton (alto sax, soprano sax, flute, clarinet, voice), Leonard Jones (bass, voice), Steve McCall (drums, percussion, voice)1978Lifea BlinecNovusWith Joseph Jarman (bass sax, bassoon, alto clarinet, flute, soprano sax, percussion, vocals), Douglas Ewart (bass clarinet, soprano clarinet, bassoon, alto sax, tenor sax, percussion), Amina Claudine Myers (piano), Thurman Barker (drums, percussion)1978SpihumonestyBlack SaintWith Roscoe Mitchell (alto sax, flute), George Lewis (trombone, synthesizer, sousaphone), Leonard Jones (bass), Amina Claudine Myers (piano, organ, electric piano), Youseff Yancy (theremin), Jay Clayton (vocals)1978Spiral Live at Montreux 1978NovusSolo piano; in concert1980Mama and DaddyBlack SaintWith Baikida Carroll (trumpet, flugelhorn), Vincent Chancey (french horn), George Lewis (trombone), Wallace McMillan (alto sax, tenor sax, flute, congas), Bob Stewart (tuba), Leroy Jenkins (violin), Brian Smith: (bass), Andrew Cyrille (percussion), Thurman Barker (drums, marimba, percussion)1981DuetBlack SaintDuo, with Amina Claudine Myers (piano)1981Blues ForeverBlack Saint11 piece band, with Baikida Carroll (trumpet, flugelhorn), Craig Harris (trombone), Wallace Laroy McMillan (baritone sax, flute), Jimmy Vass (alto sax, flute), Eugene Ghee (tenor sax, clarinet), Vincent Chancey (French horn), Howard Johnson (tuba, baritone sax), Jean Paul Bourelly (guitar), Michael Logan (bass), Andrew Cyrille (drums)1983Rejoicing with the LightBlack Saint15 piece band, with Janette Moody (vocals), Warren Smith (percussion, timbales, vibraphone), John Purcell (clarinet, bass clarinet, piccolo, alto sax, oboe, flute), Jean Paul Bourelly (guitar), Vincent Chancey (French horn), Eugene Ghee (clarinet, bass clarinet, tenor sax), Patience Higgins (clarinet, alto clarinet, baritone sax), Marty Ehrlich (clarinet, alto sax, bass clarinet, flute), Craig Harris (trombone), Baikida Carroll (trumpet, flugelhorn), Howard Johnson (tuba, baritone sax, contrabass clarinet), Abdul Wadud (cello), Rick Rozie (bass), Andrew Cyrille (drums)1984View from WithinBlack SaintOctet, with Stanton Davis (trumpet, flugelhorn), John Purcell (soprano sax, alto sax, tenor sax, bass clarinet, flute), Marty Ehrlich (alto sax, flute, piccolo, tenor sax, clarinet, bass clarinet), Warren Smith (vibraphone, marimba, gongs), Ray Mantilla (bongos, conga, percussion), Rick Rozie (bass), Thurman Barker (drums, orchestral bells, marimba, gong)1986Roots of BlueRPRDuo, with Cecil McBee (bass)1986Colors in Thirty ThirdBlack SaintSome tracks trio, with John Purcell (soprano sax, bass clarinet, tenor sax), Fred Hopkins (bass); some tracks quartet, with Andrew Cyrille (drums) added; some tracks sextet, with John Blake (violin) and Dave Holland (bass, cello) added; one track quintet, without Blake; one track quintet without Holland1989The Hearinga SuiteBlack Saint18 piece band, with Ron Tooley, Jack Walrath, Cecil Bridgewater and Frank Gordon (trumpet), Clifton Anderson and Dick Griffin (trombone), Jack Jeffers and Bill Lowe (bass trombone), John Purcell (flute, clarinet, tenor sax), Marty Ehrlich (piccolo, flute, clarinet, alto sax), Patience Higgins (bass clarinet, tenor sax), Courtnay Winter (bassoon, bass clarinet, tenor sax), Charles Davis (baritone sax, soprano sax), Diedre Murray (cello), Fred Hopkins (bass), Warren Smith (glockenspiel, vibraphone, percussion), Andrew Cyrille (drums)1990Blu Blu BluBlack SaintBig band, with Jack Walrath (trumpet), Alfred Patterson (trombone), John Purcell (alto sax, flute, clarinet), Robert De Bellis (alto sax, flute, bass clarinet), Eugene Ghee (tenor sax, clarinet, bass clarinet), Patience Higgins (clarinet, flute, baritone sax), Joe Daley (tuba), Brad Jones (bass), David Fiuczynski (guitar), Warren Smith (vibraphone, timpani), Joel Brandon (whistling), Thurman Barker (drums); with Lindsey Horner (bass) added on three tracks; Mark Taylor (French horn) added on one track1993Family TalkBlack SaintSextet, with Jack Walrath (trumpet), Patience Higgins (bass clarinet, tenor sax, English horn), Brad Jones (bass), Warren Smith (vibraphone, timpani, marimba, gongs), Reggie Nicholson (drums, marimba, bells)1994Think All, Focus OneBlack SaintSeptet, with Eddie Allen (trumpet), Eugene Ghee (tenor sax, bass clarinet), Alfred Patterson (trombone), David Gilmore (guitar), Brad Jones (bass), Reggie Nicholson (drums)1995Song for AllBlack SaintOctet, with Eddie Allen (trumpet), Aaron Stewart (tenor sax, soprano sax), Craig Harris (trombone), Bryan Carrott (vibraphone, percussion), Brad Jones (bass), Reggie Nicholson (drums), Richarda Abrams (vocals)1995One Line, Two ViewsNew World10 piece band, with Eddie Allen (trumpet), Patience Higgins (tenor sax, bass clarinet), Marty Ehrlich (alto sax, bass clarinet), Bryan Carrott (vibraphone), Mark Feldman (violin), Tony Cedras (accordion), Anne LeBaron (harp), Lindsey Horner (bass), Reggie Nicholson (drums); all also perform percussion and vocals1996The Open Air MeetingNew WorldDuo, with Marty Ehrlich; in concert1998Vision Towards EssencePiSolo piano; in concert; released 20072000The Visibility of ThoughtCheskyVarious formats; with Jon Deak (contrabass), Joseph Kubera (piano), Mark Feldman (violin), Thomas Buckner (baritone), Ralph Farris (viola), Dorothy Lawson (cello), Todd Reynolds and Mary Rowell (violin), Philip Bush (piano)2005StreamingPiTrio, with George E. Lewis (trombone, laptop), Roscoe Mitchell (saxes, percussion)2009 / 2010SoundDancePiFirst four tracks with Fred Anderson (tenor sax); remaining four tracks with George E. Lewis (trombone, laptop)2010 (released)SpectrumMutableOne track duo, with Roscoe Mitchell (alto sax); one track with the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra, Thomas Buckner (baritone); one track without Buckner