The Ethnic Heritage Ensemble opened last night’s sold-out show at the Bop Shop with Wayne Shorter’s “Footprints.” Kahil played a hypnotic pattern on his drums with mallets while Corey Wilke and Alex Harding added precision and then the enchanting melody. We’ve seen them over twenty times, and it is always a treat. We’ve heard Kahil in other settings as well, with David Murray and Billy Bang, and the lineup never includes a bass player. They have a uniquely sophisticated, primal sound. It is from the heart.
Kahil wrote “Great Black Music” for the Art Ensemble of Chicago, and they played a version of that with different lyrics last night. “Keep on Marching” was the refrain. Kahil reminded us that Mother Nature is much stronger than the crazy man in the White House. He did a spot-on impression of Ornette Coleman when he told the crowd how Ornette called him after he heard Kahil’s song “Ornette” on a New York radio station. The band played “Ornette” and then one of Ornette’s, “Lonely Woman,” to cap a perfect night.
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