During his lifetime, pianist and composer Hasaan Ibn Ali (1931-1980) was a jazz enigma. The Philly musician practiced with John Coltrane during the early '50s and is credited as the primary influence on the saxophonist's "sheets of sound" harmonic approach first articulated on Giant Steps - a sound that exploded across his Impulse! work. Metaphysics: The Lost Atlantic Album is a genuine jazz holy grail, one of only two albums to feature the pianist's compositions and unique playing style. The first, The Max Roach Trio Featuring the Legendary Hasaan, was credited to Roach because it was the only way to get Atlantic's Nesuhi Ertegun to sign the pianist. Pleased, the label commissioned an album from Ibn Ali. Using bassist Art Davis, drummer Kalil Madi, and saxophonist Odean Pope, Ibn Ali completed the session…
21 previously unissued solo tracks recorded between 1962–1965.
This remarkable project features three Philadelphia musicians paying tribute to one of Philly’s most enigmatic and important musical visionaries—the Legendary Hasaan. Hasaan Ibn Ali was born in 1931 and made only one commercial release in his lifetime which has of course become a cult classic. Combining the craggly dissonances of Monk with the spidery lines of Elmo Hope,and the muscular intensity of Cecil Taylor, his music and theories were a huge influence on Coltrane, McCoy Tyner and countless others. Here Brian Marsella, Christian McBride and Anwar Marshall interpret the quirky compositions of this obscure musical master with a deep respect and a fresh imaginative voice. Included are an unrecorded Hasaan original and a tribute piece by Brian Marsella.
Features 24 bit digital remastering. Comes with a description. Hasaan was an absolutely unbelievable piano player and composer. If you like Monk, if you know of Herbie Nichols, Hasaan was like Monk plus Nichols to the tenth power. He was a legend who made only one record!!! One of the great tragedies in record history. This is really a Hasaan record, his music and leadership. Max Roach lent his name to it to help it get out in the market. I met Roach in the 70's and asked him about Hasaan…he was immediately overwhelmed, and told me that Hasaan was in poor health. This is a unique recording in every sense.
Other than a trio set with the legendary pianist Hasaan Ibn Ali, this set was Max Roach's only recording as a leader during 1963-67. Three of the six numbers ("Nommo," "St. Louis Blues" and "In the Red") find Roach heading a group that includes trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, altoist James Spaulding, pianist Ronnie Mathews, bassist Jymie Merritt and, on "St. Louis Blues," Roland Alexander on soprano. Their music is essentially advanced hard-bop with a generous amount of space taken up by Roach's drum solos. The other three selections ("The Drum Also Waltzes," "Drums Unlimited" and "For Big Sid") are unaccompanied features for Max Roach and because of the melodic and logically-planned nature of his improvisations, they continually hold on to one's attention.