Steve Reid: 5 Essential Recordings as a Bandleader
The late Steve Reid is one of the greatest, and possibly most over-looked drummers of our time. First making a name for himself at the early age of 19, playing on Martha and The Vandellas’ 1964 Motown classic “Dancing In The Street,” Reid went on to play with a wide array of legendary artists from soul to jazz and Afrobeat, including Fats Domino, James Brown, Chaka Khan, Dexter Gordon, Sun Ra, Miles Davis, Randy Weston, Fela Kuti, and many others.
During the mid-sixties, Reid spent three years traveling Africa and playing drums in Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Senegal, and learning regional percussion styles from hi-life legend Guy Warren.
Reid was also a political activist, and was sentenced to four years in jail for refusing to join the US military and fight in Vietnam War. After being paroled in 1971, Reid went on to form his own Mustevic Sound label and released a number of now-considered legendary spiritual jazz recordings.
After teaching music in New York’s under-served communities for many years, Reid moved to Lugano in Switzerland. After encountering and teaming up with Kieran Hebden (aka Four Tet), who he called his “spiritual son,” the drummer began touring and recording in a duo setting, and with a new band. This brief, yet fruitful collaboration resulted in a number of experimental jazz-meets-electronic recordings, including Spirit Walk, The Exchange Session Vol. 1 & 2, Daxaar, and a number of twelve-inch singles.
Following his unfortunate death in 2010 at the age of 66, iconic London DJ and producer Gilles Peterson set up The Steve Reid Foundation, which is a non-profit organization that aims to help people working in music who are in crisis, as well as supporting emerging new talent through education initiatives.
As we look back and celebrate the legacy of Steve Reid, here are some must-own essential recordings from the jazz great that he released as a bandleader.
Steve Reid ft. The Legendary Master Brotherhood — ‘Nova’
(1976 / Mustevic Sound)
Recently reissued by Soul Jazz Records, Nova is arguably one of the greatest jazz recordings released during the seventies. Following the formation of the group The Legendary Master Brotherhood after serving four years in jail as a conscientious objector of the Vietnam War, the original album was released in 1976 on Reid’s own Bronx-based Mustevic Sound label. Featuring the all-time jazz funk classic and the drummer’s most notable track “Lions of Juda” (even though composed by trumpeter Ahmed Abdullah), the record is a brilliant blend of deep spiritual melodies, funky rhythms, and explosive horn solos.
Steve Reid — ‘Rhythmatism’
(1976 / Mustevic Sound)
Recorded in November and December of 1975, Rhythmatism was originally released in 1976 and features some of the most cutting-edge jazz musicians of their time including alto saxophonist Arthur Blythe, baritone saxophonist Charles Tyler, guitarist Melvin Smith, pianist Les Walker, bassist David Wertman, trombonist Michael Keith, and guest Chris Capers on trumpet. Solid from start to finish, this post-bop classic features five tracks including “Kai,” “Rocks (For Cannonball),” “C You Around,” “Center of The Earth,” and the album’s one-minute appropriately titled outdo, “One Minute Please.” The album is a brilliant mix of free-willing avant instrumentation, and deep spiritual soulful grooves, all backed by Reid’s tight drum rhythms. This album was also reissued this past year by Soul Jazz Records.
Steve Reid — ‘Odyssey of the Oblong Square’
(1977 / Mustevic Sound)
Odyssey of the Oblong Square is the result of material taken from an in-studio performance for New York City’s WKCR FM radio show “Jazz Alternatives” in January 1977. Featuring a familiar supporting cast, Reid was joined on this live recording by percussionist Mohammad Abdullah, trumpeter Ahmed Abdullah, alto saxophonists Arthur Blythe and Charles Tyler, and bassist David Wertman. Originally released in extremely limited-quantities, this album is even more free sounding than Reid’s two previous albums, and more reminiscent with the avant “loft jazz” sound that was stirring at the time in New York’s underground scene. Heavily percussion and rhythm-based driven, the session also incorporates adventurous horn solos and blended harmonies. As written by Neyeswah Abiku of KCLU FM in his liner notes featuring on the Universal Sound 2009 reissue, “Oblong Square is indeed an Odyssey.”
Steve Reid Ensemble — ‘Spirit Walk’
(2002 / Soul Jazz Records)
Following Reid’s three releases on his Mustevic Sound label in the seventies, and some notable side appearances, mainly in support of saxophonist Charles Tyler and bassist David Wertman, the drummer kind of disappeared off the map for 20 years. Moving from the South Bronx to Switzerland, Spirit Walk in many ways represented Reid’s “return,” teaming up with a completely new cast of musicians including the beginning of a fruitful collaborative partnership with highly-acclaimed electronic producer Kieran Hebden (aka Four Tet). This session also represented the drummer’s first exploration into the blending of jazz and electronics, which is the direction he took for most of the remainder of his life. Featuring a lineup that included a Hammond B3 and Moog keyboard, four saxophones, bass, Reid on drums and vocals, and Hebden on electronics, the album is very adventurous, combining the spiritualism of Pharoah Sanders and the spaced-out vibes of Sun Ra with club-oriented broken beat grooves that you might experience at a live Four Tet show. Released on Soul Jazz Records, Spirit Walk is one of those recordings that was well ahead of it’s time.
Steve Reid Ensemble — ‘Daxaar (Recorded in Africa)’
(2007 / Domino)
As a follow-up to Spirit Walk and the live improvised Exchange Session duo recordings with Kieran Hebden, Reid and the electronic producer headed to Dakar, Senegal in Africa to record and collaborate with some of the best musicians in the region. Prior to this visit, it had been 40 years since the drummer’s three year stint in Africa, learning from master percussionist Guy Warren and performing in Fela Kuti’s band. Recorded over a three day session at Studio Dogo, the music blends Reid’s infectious percussion grooves, with improvised electronic textures, African-rooted funk, and cosmic electric jazz melodies.
Watch short film on album ‘Daxaar: Made in Africa’
OTHER HIGHLY RECOMMENDED STEVE REID
COLLABORATIVE RECORDINGS
Martha & The Vandellas — ‘Dancing In The Street’ (1964)
Charles Tyler Ensemble — ‘Voyage From Jericho’ (1975)
Frank Lowe — ‘Fresh’ (1975)
David Wertman — ‘Kara Suite’ (1976)
Arthur Blythe — ‘The Grip’ (1977)
New Life Trio — ‘Visions Of The Third Eye’ (1980)
Kieran Hebden & Steve Reid — ‘The Exchange Session Vol. 1 & 2’ (2006)
