Ali Shaheed Muhammad

Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad – JID017: Lonnie Liston Smith (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 34:07 minutes | 713 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Jazz Is Dead

Coursing through the cosmic pulse of Jazz-Funk is the inimitable influence of Lonnie Liston Smith. For over five decades, the legendary keyboardist and bandleader has been a driving force in shaping the genre’s sound. Smith made his recording debut as a sideman for heavyweights Miles Davis, Pharoah Sanders, Gato Barbieri and Leon Thomas. He later formed his own ensemble, Lonnie Liston Smith and the Cosmic Echoes which delivered an incredible run of classic albums through the 1970s. His music has served as the foundation for immortal hip-hop samples and ecstatic dancefloor revelry. In late February 2020, Smith headlined Jazz Is Dead’s Black History Month series, giving many jazz fans what would be their last taste of live music before the nightmare of COVID-19 that took over in the weeks that followed. Now, he reunites with Jazz Is Dead to deliver Lonnie Liston Smith JID017 – a full-bloom tribute to the multitude of sonic strains that all lead back to the fingertips of the maestro himself.

(more…)

Adrian Younge, Ali Shaheed Muhammad – Phil Ranelin and Wendell Harrison JID016 (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 32:24 minutes | 664 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Jazz is Dead

To be an independent artist means to not only be free to share your most ambitious artistic impulses, but to retain ownership of them, working tirelessly to market and produce a body of work that stands apart from corporate decision-making and interference. For Phil Ranelin and Wendell Harrison, it was this guiding principle that led them to found the Detroit-based Jazz label Tribe Records in the early 1970s. Focusing on self-reliance and communal support, Tribe provided a platform for local jazz artists such as Ranelin and Harrison to record and release albums, and had community members taking full control of the promotion and distribution. The label and its magazine set an important early precedent for community-driven arts organizations, and still stands as a testament to their potential and efficacy. Today, the legacy of Tribe lives on in labels like Jazz Is Dead, making these recordings at Linear Lab Studios in Highland Park all the more significant. In their latest dispatch, Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad craft a poignant batch of new material that celebrates the lasting impact of Tribe, and the perpetual greatness of Phil Ranelin and Wendell Harrison.
(more…)

Adrian Younge, Ali Shaheed Muhammad – Jazz Is Dead 011 (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 36:28 minutes | 760 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Jazz is Dead

In the music industry, time moves ten times faster. There is no pause given to greatness, and legends can vanish amidst the churn of the hit parade. It is no minor miracle, then, that in the face of a deadly pandemic and faltering supply chain, Jazz Is Dead has returned with another offering of top-shelf recordings, paying tribute to past legends and new school torchbearers alike. Whether you’ve known the names of Jazz Is Dead Series 2’s featured guests, or are just meeting them for the first time, prepare to be blown away.

(more…)

Adrian Younge, Ali Shaheed Muhammad – Jazz Is Dead 001 (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 29:43 minutes | 604 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Jazz is Dead

The concept behind Jazz Is Dead 001 is to pair contemporary producers Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad with a series of revered jazz musicians, in a bid to create fresh tracks that employ the same original vintage recording equipment the ensemble cast used back in the ’60s and ’70s. The task is a natural fit for the duo: the Los Angeles-based Younge has a reputation for coating his music with a gritty retro patina—his personal discography includes Something About April, a soundtrack to a non-existent ’60s blaxploitation flick—and as a member of A Tribe Called Quest, Shaheed Muhammad became renowned for the way the group skillfully repurposed deep jazz loops into golden era hip-hop tracks.

(more…)

Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad – Instrumentals JID009 (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 01:03:58 minutes | 1,27 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Jazz is Dead

More than the previous eight Jazz Is Dead releases Instrumentals JID009 delivers on Adrian and Ali’s original promise of showcasing the music made with their heroes, laying bare the inspired compositions created when different generations of musicians come together to collaborate in the studio. For nearly all of these songs, Adrian and Ali began with sketches and elements of songs that they developed alongside the featured musicians live in Adrian Younge’s Linear Labs studio located in the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles.

(more…)