The roots of alto saxophonist Idris Ackamoor lie in the heart of Chicago where he was a student of free jazz pioneer and pianist Cecil Taylor. These roots were also enhanced musically by extensive trips Idris made to Africa, where he was inspired by the likes of music from Ghana and Ethiopia. That resulted in three exciting albums – ‘Lalibela’ (’73), ‘King Of Kings’ (‘74) and ‘Birth/Speed/Merging’ (’76) – that Idris recorded with his band The Pyramids. They called it a day however, in ’77.

But, almost 40 years later, Ackamoor is back again. The renewed interest in afro-jazz (and more broadly: afro-futurism) and the Lifetime Achievement Award that Gilles Peterson presented to Ackamoor during his Worldwide Award, didn’t leave the alt-saxophonist unmoved. He went off on tour again and even recorded an album for Strut (see too: Orlando Julius, Pat Thomas,...) like the fiercely acclaimed, recently released ‘We Be All Africans’.

Line up:

IDRIS ACKAMOOR - alto sax, tenor sax, vocals, percussion
SANDY POINDEXTER - violin, electric violin, vocals
DAVID MOLINA - electric guitar, vocals, electronics, percussion
SKYLER STOVER - acoustic and electric bass
SANDOR MOSS - drums, congas, vocals, percussion
RAUL RAMIREZ - drums, congas, vocals, percussion