It is with great sadness that we mention the passing of drum legend Rashied Ali on Wednesday August 12th 2009. Rashied Ali was one of the greatest of all modern jazz drummers, starting his long career with John Coltrane in 1965, being Coltrane’s drummer of choice for his free-est explorations until Trane’s death in 1967. It was a bold move for Trane to add Rashied to his band initially alongside Elvin Jones! One of the final recordings of Coltrane’s life was a duo session with Rashied called “Interstellar Space”. After finally being released in the mid-seventies, it has continued to be one of the most riveting and profound jazz statements of all time. Every listening still sends shivers up & down my spine!
Rashied Ali was born Robert Patterson on July 1, 1933, to a musical family in Philadelphia, Pa. His brother Muhammed is also a reknowned jazz drummer [both played on Alan Shorter's Orgasm album!]. Besides Rashied’s ground-breaking work on the half dozen latter-day Coltrane records, he also recorded with such greats as Alice Coltrane, Archie Shepp, Marion Brown, Jackie McLean, and many others. During the loft jazz days of the seventies, Rashied ran his own club in Soho called Ali’s Alley where I saw many of my most memorable gigs. The one set that still stands out was the Muhal Richard Abrams Quintet with Roscoe Mitchell, Henry Threadgill, Fred Hopkins and Steve McCall. (Roscoe took one of the scariest solos I have ever heard. A young John Zorn also freaked out!)
I recall seeing Rashied Ali with his own quintet or quartet during the late 70’s and still being knocked out by his playing and his bands. Rashied was one of the first musicians to start his own label, Survival, during that time, and released a dozen great records of his own groups and duos, with Frank Lowe, James Blood Ulmer, Leroy Jenkins and jazz vocal legend Joe Lee Wilson. Sadly, all of those records are long out-of-print, even though they were reissued through the Knit-Media label on CD in the nineties. In the early nineties, Rashied helped organize a band called Prima Materia with Louie Belogenis & Allan Chase on saxes, Joe Gallant & William Parker on basses and Greg Murphy on piano. This band was based on the music of Albert Ayler & John Coltrane exclusively. I caught them on several occasions and they always blew minds! They recorded three great discs for the Knit label. My fondest memory of Prima Materia is when Louie’s friend John Zorn sat in with them at the old Knit and took a solo that reached for the heavens. No one in attendance will ever forget how it made Rashied and Louie beam with pleasure. Rashied and Louie were close friends and went on to record a fine duo outing, and a trio CD with the late Wilber Morris as well. In the last decade, Rashied and Louie put together yet another fine band and tribute to the spirit of John Coltrane that included Roy Campbell, Reggie Workman and Andrew Bemkey.
Throughout the past few decades, Rashied Ali has continued to leads his own bands as well as play and record with Charles Gayle & William Parker (in By Any Means), Peter Brotzmann, Tisziji Munoz, David Murray, Phalanx, Kali Fasteau, Ivo Perelman, Rudolph Grey, et al. His last CD was a fine duo with Henry Grimes, and he recently played at the Vision Fest with the reunited By Any Means, and his recent Coltrane inspired band with Louie. Every time I have heard & seen him play, it was a revelation. The few times that I had a chance talk with Rashied Ali I realized what a gracious and sweet being he was and is. A true inspiration to many of us. He will be sadly missed.
- Bruce Lee Gallanter & the all at Downtown Music Gallery NYC
