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Ethnic Heritage Ensemble at KCH

BY LARS BJORN

Chicago's Ethnic Heritage Ensemble visited the Kerrytown Concert House on February 9th. The intimate venue was filled to capacity with people very enthusiastic about the artistic fare: avant jazz with a groove.

With percussionist Kahil El'Zabar as a leader there was bound to be an underlying pulse to even the most abstract melodic or harmonic concept. Kahil even covered the traditional role of bass in the quartet. He is one of the most expressive percussionists around and his enthusiasm was infectious. El'Zabar used hands on the floor drums, sticks on the drum set, and much of the time also sang or chanted. His most elaborated vocal was on "There Is A Place" ("Can You Find A Place Where There Is Peace?"), which was a very evocative ballad.

Guitarist Fareed Haque was a newcomer to Ann Arbor. He impressed with great technical facility, tasteful fills and solos. Ernest Dawkins on alto sax and Corey Wilkes on trumpet was a formidable pair of horns. Wilkes was a new acquaintance; as the youngest member of the group he gave us an indication of the depth of talent in the Chicago avant garde.

The group played several selections from their recent Delmark CD, Hot and Heavy, which I strongly recommend. This is a top-notch aggregation!

photograph by Lars Bjorn