Idris Muhammad - Peace and Rhythm (Black Vinyl)

Grey-area LP reissue, exact replica of the original * ldris Muhammad‘s legendary first album for Prestige, a great synthesis of the disparate elements that went into the era’s Spiritual Jazz, Grooves, Soul and Free Experimentation and an indication of the many changes that were to occur in Black Music generally over the immediate years following the end of the 1960s.

“Parts of the second solo album by Prestige Records’ house drummer, Idris Muhammad, are an even poppier affair than Black Rhythm Revolution, with a mellow soul-jazz feel replacing the slight Latin tinge of the earlier album. Side one is downright crossover, with its two pieces of positive-thinking pop (the lyrics, by Muhammad, are sung by his wife, Sakinah Muhammad) separated by a loose but faithful take on Wilson Pickett’s “Don’t Knock My Love.” That’s just side one, though. Side two is something much weirder and far more interesting. “The Peace and Rhythm Suite” is a side-long suite consisting of two long, spacy compositions that predate the ambient house scene by nearly two decades yet sound entirely of a piece with that style. Long, droning, sustained chords on a variety of wind and reed instruments float above Muhammad’s percussion, which ebbs and flows in a free, almost arrhythmic way through most of the piece. Fans of the Orb or Brian Eno will find it an old hat, but for early-’70s jazz, this was downright revolutionary.