Adrian Reid plays music from his recent quartet album Nyanza Street, with TONY KOFI (sax), LARRY BARTLEY (bass), ROD YOUNGS (drums)
Adrian writes:
I had been working with various members of the band for over 20 years. We would get together rehearse and do a few gigs and then go back to our respective outfits thus allowing us to eke out a living as musicians. We always enjoyed working together so after 2 seconds of contemplation I decided to make it official. To make a recording. Some of the compositions were well travelled parts of our repertoire and others finished ideas that hadn’t yet been transferred to paper. The ones that made it to print we touched on first. Those still in the ether I brought the band aurally. I was amazed how quickly they grasped the ideas and ran with them. It was a source of joy for me.
Nyanza St is near where I lived. It is also a metaphor for the road I have travelled as a musician from the steppes of Plumstead common in Southeast London to the bright lights of New York City. Actually there are no Steppes in Plumstead but you get my drift? It’s about the people and places that have shaped my vision as a man and musician.
The personnel joining me on the album are: Tony Kofi, Alto and Soprano Saxophone. Larry Bartley, bass and Rod Youngs Drums. Collectively and as a band they have played with such luminaries as: Abdullah Ibrahim, The World Saxophone Quartet, Ornette Coleman and Gil Scott–Heron. I too have been honoured to have worked with: Adelaide Hall, Archie Shepp, Branford Marsalis, Chet Baker, Annie Ross and Mavis Staples amongst others.
It has been a great journey so far. I hope we can share those vistas with you.
Adrian Reid’