Ahmed Abdul-Malik

Acoustic Bass icon Acoustic Bass

October 2, 1993 (Age 66) died

January 30, 1927 Birthday

New York, New York, U.S. Birthplace

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About

Ahmed Abdul-Malik was a jazz bassist and oud player, recognized as one of the first musicians to integrate Middle Eastern and North African elements into jazz. Born in New York, he began working professionally while still in high school and, by the 1950s, had performed with notable artists such as Art Blakey, Coleman Hawkins, and Randy Weston. In 1957, Abdul-Malik began working with Thelonious Monk’s Quartet, which also featured John Coltrane. This association opened up the opportunity for Abdul-Malk to finally work on something he’d long been interested in-- blending jazz with Middle Eastern sounds. Encouraged by Monk and Coltrane, he formed his own group and released the album Jazz Sahara in 1958. Over the next six years, he released five more albums exploring this blend of musical traditions. By the late 1960s, Abdul-Malik shifted his focus to jazz education, teaching at New York University and Brooklyn College. He passed away in 1993 following a stroke.

Trivia

Ahmed Abdul-Malik received BMI’s Pioneer in Jazz Award in 1984 in recognition of his work in melding Middle Eastern music and jazz. Ahmed Abdul-Malik played the oud on a tour of South America as part of a U.S. State Department program. Ahmed Abdul-Malik played a variety of non-western instruments on his recordings, including the oud, the tambura and the peri.

Early Life

Ahmed Abdul-Malik was born Jonathan Tim Jr. to Caribbean immigrant parents in Brooklyn in 1927, though he once claimed that his father was born in Sudan. Taught violin by his father as a child, he also attended a local music school where he studied piano, cello, bass, and tuba. He later enrolled at the High School of Music & Art in Harlem. By 1944, while still in high school, Abdul-Malik was performing professionally as a double bassist in bebop groups around New York. During this period, he also developed an interest in Middle Eastern music. He learned Arabic, changed his name to Ahmed Abdul-Malik, and began experimenting with traditional instruments such as the oud and the kanoon.