Kahil El'Zabar (drums, kalimba, cajón, vocals); Corey Wilkes (trumpet, percussion); Kevin Nabors Jr. (tenor sax, percussion); Ishmael Ali (cello)
Kahil El'Zabar has kept the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble afloat for half a century. Now in its fifty first year, the Chicago based ensemble flew into London to play two sold out concerts on Frith Street.
From behind the traps, El'Zabar led from the front. Coltrane to the GASbook to original composition, the EHE moved effortlessly from inside to out to inside again. Coltrane a touchstone for the EHE, at times trumpeter Corey Wilkes channelled the 'Great Quintet' era Miles Davis. Tenor saxophonist Kevin Nabors Jr. traded with Wilkes, the pair winning huge applause and Ishmael Ali's cello proved to be an excellent alternative to the double bass one might associate with a small ensemble such as this.
A Time for Healing spoke to these times, although El'Zabar wasn't without humour, far from it. Amidst intense sections, the quartet's camaraderie was clearly evident. McCoy Tyner's Passion Dance featured an array of percussive instruments in the more than capable hands of Wilkes and Nabors, and, returning to the stage for an encore, El'Zabar dismissed his bandmates to sit out front to sing an extraordinary a cappella version (hand gestures and all) of Buddy Johnson's Save Your Love for Me.
* Kahil El'Zabar's Ethnic Heritage Ensemble will be in concert at Cobalt Studios, Newcastle, tonight (Saturday 7 June). Russell
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