Pheeroan akLaff
Pheeroan akLaff (* 27. January 1955 in Detroit , Michigan as Paul Maddox ) is an American jazz drummer .
Live and act
akLaff started out in rhythm and blues bands and theater groups at Eastern Michigan University , where he studied acting; later he dealt intensively with the African musical traditions both on the Ivory Coast and in Nigeria (among others with Fela Anikulapo Kuti ). His first important engagement was with Jay Hoggard in 1975 . Through regular collaboration with Wadada Leo Smith , he got to know Oliver Lake , in whose group Jump Up he played longer. He also played with Anthony Davis and James Newton , in the Henry Threadgill sextet , with Amina Claudine Myers and in the group New Air . In 1983 the drummer released the maxi single Fits Like a Glove under his own name . In the next few years he was primarily to be heard as the accompanist of Sonny Sharrock , Geri Allen , Reggie Workman , Andrew Hill , Ray Anderson , Marty Ehrlich , Mal Waldron and Yosuke Yamashita . Only in 1990 did his own album follow. At this time he regularly presented his own bands on European tours, in which John Stubblefield , Ed Cherry and Reggie Workman were essential partners. He later worked with Don Byron , Cecil Taylor , David Murray , Dewey Redman , Steve Lehman and Karen Borca , but especially with the pianist Michael Cain . In 2011 he appeared on Wadada Leo Smith's Ten Freedom Summers . akLaff teaches at Wesleyan University and lives in New York.
literature
- Martin Kunzler : Jazz Lexicon. Volume 1: A – L (= rororo-Sachbuch. Vol. 16512). 2nd Edition. Rowohlt, Reinbek near Hamburg 2004, ISBN 3-499-16512-0 .
Web links
- Pheeroan akLaff at Discogs (English)
- http://www.aklaff.com
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | akLaff, Pheeroan |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Maddox, Paul |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 27, 1955 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Detroit , Michigan , USA |