Akbar DePriest

Akbar DePriest (born May 16, 1930 in Imperial , California as Robert DePriest Brooks , † May 2, 2007 in Portland , Oregon ) was an American jazz drummer.

DePriest, who grew up in California, worked as a musician from 1955, a. a. with Big Maybelle, George Estridge and in Chicago with Eddie Harris . He performed for three years in New York City with Sarah McLawler and Richard Otto , recorded with John Coltrane and then toured with Gene Ammons . Then he played in Denver with Joe Keel , Dee Minor and Milt Cannon . Rahsaan Roland Kirk , with whom he also appeared, "baptized" him on his stage name.

In 1971 he went to Copenhagen , where he worked with Dexter Gordon , Kenny Drew , Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen , Johnny Griffin , Ben Webster , Charlie Mariano , Richard Boone , Abdullah Ibrahim and Don Cherry . On his return to Denver he founded the Drummers Supper Club with Blue Mitchell , Dianne Reeves , Joe Keel and Dee Minor . In 1985 he joined Charles Lewis's group in Scottsdale , Arizona .

In 1987 he moved to Portland, where he founded The DePriest Project . The following year he performed at the Portland Art Museum with a band consisting of Thara Memory , Gordon Lee and Phil Baker ; he then founded the Akbar Priest Quartet with Janice Scroggins , Bobby Bryant Jr. , Tim Gilson and Leslie Henderson and worked on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation with the Indian saxophonist Jim Pepper as well as Phil Sparks and Mal Waldron . In 1991 he started the series of DePriest Family Jazz concerts. DePriest, who also worked as a music teacher, died of liver cancer.

Discography

• Central Avenue: Roots with Thara Memory , Janice Scroggins , Bennie Maupin , 1996
• Live! On the Willamette with Jay Collins , Brad Herrett , Hadley Caliman , 1997
• The DePriest Project: Inclusion , 2000

Web links

• Obituary ( memento of October 12, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
• The DePriest Project ( Memento of May 11, 2004 in the Internet Archive )