Idis
Muhammad, whose drumming crossed over several musical styles including funk,
jazz, and rhythm and blues, died Tuesday (July 29) at the age of 74. Close frend Dan Williams confirmed Muhammad's death. Muhammed was a converted Muslim and was immediately
buried in accordance with the traditions of Islam, While the cause of death has not yet been confirmed, Muhammad had been receiving dialysis treatment in New Orleans — where he had
returned from New York City to retire back in 2011.
And, in
the late Seventies, Idris has emerged as a top-selling crossover artist in his
own right, with his last several albums placing high on the pop, soul, disco,
and jazz charts: Turn This Mutha Out and Boogie to the Top (for CTI’s Kudu
label), and his Fantasy debut, You Ain’t No Friend of Mine! (produced by
William Fischer).
His
brand-new Fantasy release, Foxhuntin’,reunites him with Dave Matthews and Tony
Sarafino, the team that produced his Kudu hits. The results? State-of-the-art
disco with a rhythmic foundation that’s unmistakably Muhammad.
Idris is
understandably enthusiastic about the album. "The dance beat is there, of
course," he says, "but it’s also got a fresh new sound that I’m very
excited about."
Matthews
and Sarafino composed most of the LP’s material; there’s also a track written
by Idris’s wife, Sakinah Muhammad. Sidemen include Hiram Bullock on guitar,
keyboardist Cliff Carter, Wilbur Bascomb on bass, and singers Ronnie Eagle and
Frank Floyd.
Although
the jazz public first became aware of Muhammad in 1967 when his funk rhythms
propelled alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson’s hit, "Alligator Boogaloo,"
he had been the driving force behind countless rock and r&b hits for a
decade previously. His beat graced such classics as Larry Williams’s "Bony
Moronie," the Impressions’ "Keep On Pushing" and "People
Get Ready," and the Dixie Cups’ "Chapel of Love."
The son
of traditional jazz banjo player Nathaniel Morris, Idris was the youngest of
four drum-playing brothers. "The Dixieland musicians all lived in the
neighborhood," he recalls, "so they all used to get together on
Sundays and parade through the streets. They had a feeling different from any
other musicians in any other place. In New Orleans you have to play all types
of music, because it’s just not a one-type-of-music town."
Muhammad
is a leading exponent of the unique New Orleans school of drumming and credits
among his influences such hometown drummers as brother Nathaniel Morris, Jr.,
Ed Blackwell, John Boudreaux, and Smokey Johnson. "Because my father was a
musician," he explains, "we could play drums in the house all day and
no one would say anything. So John and Smokey used to come to my house and
rehearse. We were all young cats, but between us, we kinda had the whole New Orleans
scene hooked up."
Muhammad
was working with the legendary Hawkettes, led by organist Art Neville of Meters
fame, when Larry Williams asked them to go on the road with him in 1957. The
following year found Muhammad touring with Sam Cooke, but he soon returned home
to cut "You Talk Too Much" with singer Joe Jones.
That
record and other New Orleans hits of the period were causing a sensation across
the nation with their unique syncopated rhythms. Artists and producers in the
major recording centers were looking for a way to duplicate the magic sound but
it was so different that no one could copy it. Earl Palmer had already gone to
Southern California, where he became the leading rock studio drummer of the
late Fifties. Berry Gordy sent for Smokey Johnson, who, according to Muhammad,
laid the rhythmic foundation for the Motown sound.
After a
spell on the road with Maxine Brown, Muhammad became active in both Chicago
(with Dee Clark, Jerry Butler, and Curtis Mayfield) and New York (with singer
Lloyd Price and producers Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, and Jeff Barry).
In the
late Sixties, he moved to New York and worked with such jazz greats as
Donaldson, Nat Adderley, Sonny Stitt, and Gene Ammons. But they wouldn’t let
him forget his roots, because, as he says, "I had this rhythm no one else
could play."
Besides
maintaining his busy recording schedule, Muhammad also found time to spend four
years with the original band for Hair and four more with singer Roberta Flack.
He also cut two solo albums, Black Rhythm Revolution and Peace and Rhythm, for
Prestige in 1971.
Idris’s
enormous flexibility and range were again brought to light during his recent
gig with tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin’s quartet. "That whole tour was
the greatest experience! Johnny is such a strong player, and we had a ball
playing together."
At the
other end of the Muhammad spectrum is Foxhuntin’-dynamic disco, and another
expression of his unique rhythmic talents.
~ Concord Music Group
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