1978 Spiritual Jazz “Holy Grail” from Abdullah Sami reissued

DIGGIN' IN

1978 Spiritual Jazz “Holy Grail” from Abdullah Sami reissued

The new London-based jazz label Spiritmuse Records has reissued the highly obscure 1978 spiritual avant masterpiece Peace of Time by alto saxophonist and percussionist Abdullah ‘Mudon’ Sami.

Recorded in August of 1977 and released the following year as a limited 300 quantity run featuring hand-made DIY artwork on Sami’s own label, this album is one of the true “holy grails” to come out of New York’s underground jazz scene during the seventies. Also featuring bassist Hogan Jiggetts, guitarist Germahn Nazario, and drummer Wade Barnes, the four song forty-minute record is hypnotic and free, backed by a solid groove that is present throughout the entire recording. Peace of Time is Sami’s only known recorded release, with original copies of the album going for upwards of $2,000-$3,000.

After not finding the success he was looking for in New York, Sami returned to his hometown of Chicago, and eventually moved on from playing. Over the years, no one really knew what happened to this once aspiring jazz musician, adding to the overall mystique of Peace of Time.

Forty years later, two London-based “jazz-heads,” DJs, and label bosses randomly stumbled across one of the ultra-rare originals in Japan. After figuring out what they had dug up, the two set their sights on trying to contact Sami and getting the rights to reissue the record. After numerous phone calls, emails, and numerous efforts to locate Sami, he was eventually found living a relatively quite and private life in Chicago, and was completely unaware by the legendary status of his only album. After being contacted and made aware of how collectable Peace of Time had become, he gladly gave permission to Spiritmuse Records to reissue the record.

With that, the London label did not disappoint, remastering and reissuing the album on audiophile vinyl with well-crafted linear notes going into great detail about this brilliant recording. Another nice touch to this release is that half of the proceeds of this reissue are going directly to the artist.

Overall, Spiritmuse Records has made a strong impression with their first release, making a nearly impossible spiritual jazz recording more readily available for collectors and jazz fans. Don’t sleep on this one!