Muhal Richard Abrams Born: September 19th 1930, Chicago Illinois, USA Died: October 29th 2017 New York City, New York, USA American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, clarinetist, cellist, educator and administrator. He co-founded the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) in Chicago. He adopted the forename Muhal in 1967. Won the inaugural Jazzpar prize in 1990, Europe's biggest jazz award and was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts jazz masters' fellowship in 2010. Review: Perhaps most widely noted for his contributions to Chicago's Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), pianist/composer Abrams has long been respected by fellow musicians. His recorded output (more than twenty albums) reinforces notions of him as a quiet experimentalist rather than a flashy attention-seeker. Often challenging and cerebral, his compositions draw on a broad historical and stylistic scope -- from Ragtime to modern classical to Free Jazz -- without resorting to superficial pastichery. His large ensemble albums, including Blu, Blu, Blu and One Line, Two Views, may best exemplify what he's all about, showcasing his trademark dense harmonies and thoughtful arrangements, as well as his ability to weave elements of the blues, Swing, Hard Bop and the avant-garde into a cohesive style of his own.

Muhal Richard Abrams Discography