Dizzie Gillespie called him “perhaps the best percussionist of all time”; Nina Simone, Cannonball Adderley and Stevie Wonder all had him in their bands; he was president of the Chicago AACM and was on friendly terms with the members of the Art Ensemble. Kahil El’Zabar, born in the Windy City in 1953, can surely claim numerous achievements—yet we can only really get close to the magic of the drummer, percussionist and exponent of traditional African music in the live situation of a concert. That’s when El’Zabar’s spiritual jazz comes into its own and becomes that unique art form that re-creates itself in every improvisation and interpretation. In concert he becomes the Spirit Gatherer.
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