![]() ![]() I feel like I could play anything, and he would respond. In the liner notes to Oakland Duets, released more than two decades later, Hemphill says of Wadud that "we're so close musically, I feel like I have total freedom. He is in many ways orchestrating the shape of the work. ![]() ![]() "He is covering the soprano, alto, tenor, and bass voices. "I think of Abdul's playing on 'Dogon A.D.' like a full gospel choir," says Marty Ehrlich, the multi-reedist and composer who curates the Julius Hemphill Archive in the NYU Fales Library. Their shared contribution to a 15-minute piece called "Dogon A.D.," the title track of Hemphill's 1972 album, amounts to one of the defining statements of early '70s jazz. ![]() One of those leaders, and one of Wadud's most frequent collaborators, was saxophonist and composer Julius Hemphill. There was clarity, order and a lyrical quality to the music, which is one reason many fans followed his work as a sideman no less than they did his bandleaders. Any session with him had a unique sound that went beyond the sonorities of his instrument. Wadud's sound was unmistakable, rich and soulful, and he broadened the sonic range of his instrument.Īlthough much of his work was as a sideman, Wadud was one of the most important jazz musicians of the 1970s, '80s and '90s. For Wadud, the cello was his primary ax - and an expansive vehicle for self-expression. Some legendary bassists like Oscar Pettiford and Ron Carter had doubled on cello before him, and a miniscule number of cellists, notably Fred Katz, had distinguished themselves as jazz improvisers. His son, the R&B singer and songwriter Raheem DeVaughn, announced his death on social media without providing a cause. Abdul Wadud, a groundbreaking cellist who expanded a realm of possibilities for his instrument in avant-garde jazz and classical music, died on Aug. ![]()
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