Strut continues their work from the archives of Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids with a first ever vinyl release of Ackamoor’s debut avant-garde / Afro-jazz recordings from 1971 with The Collective, based out of Yellow Springs, Ohio.
The group was formed after Ackamoor had returned to Antioch from a spell in L.A. under the wing of influential saxophonist Charles Tyler. Pianist Lester Knibbs had been appointed to the Antioch college music department as an assistant professor and had followed a similar path to avant-garde pioneer, Cecil Taylor. “They both came from the classical tradition,” explains Ackamoor, “but also understood jazz and avant-garde improvisation.”
Ackamoor and Knibbs started as a duet before Ackamoor met three musicians from Wright-Patterson Air Force base near Dayton. Ackamoor continues, “They would come to Yellow Springs because they could find marijuana there. They were called ‘the three Steves’: Steve Maniscoso, an Italian, Steve Rumboat, a white American and Oakland Steve, a black musician playing flute. Oakland Steve left the air force and then Margaux Simmons arrived – that is the quintet featured on these recordings. You also hear a vocalist called Peggy Pettitt, another Antioch student who became quite famous in movies; she starred in the film Black Girl soon afterwards in 1972.
This concert is the only professional recording of The Collective from a performance at Kelly Hall in August 1971. “After this, I think the Steves went back to Wright-Patterson,” continues Ackamoor, “and The Collective just naturally evolved and transitioned into the Pyramids. I felt like The Collective was my birth as a composer; we created such a tapestry of sound because Lester had the talent to play enormous arpeggios and colours on the piano, both classically and as improvisation. Our music was just a natural expression, coming from our souls, our hearts and our minds. A channel from above… But it was not pre-designed in any way.
In addition, the debut single ‘Black Queen’ is available now across all digital streaming platforms. Idris’ inspiration behind the creation of the piece is really touching, he says:
“I wrote “Black Queen” as a dedication to the beautiful African American women who inspired me and nutured me as a young man growing up in the Afro America of the 60s and 70s. To my mother, Alexzenia, to Margaux my girl friend, band member and future wife, and of course the lovely singer of the composition, Peggy Pettit who in 1972, during the era of Blaxploitation movies, Pettitt made Black Girl, her first feature film. Pettitt was nominated for Best Actress by the NAACP for her role in Black Girl, written by J.E. Franklin and directed by Ossie Davis.”
‘Idrissa’s Dream’ is fully remastered from the original tapes by The Carvery and the package features an interview with Idris Ackamoor alongside previously unseen photos.
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids, the three seminal 1970s albums are available to buy separately on 12″ vinyl, with a 15% discount bundle option. Plus, the last few copies of the ‘AOMAWA: THE 1970s RECORDINGS’ boxset with an exclusive live LP are available here. The release of The Pyramids complete ’70s recordings coincides with a run of tour dates in Benelux, Germany & Italy including a residency at Le Guess Who? Festival (NL), in a perfect synergy to commemorate the monumental 50th anniversary of the band’s founding.
WINTER EUROPEAN TOUR 2022
November
12th: LE GUESS WHO, UTRECHT (Resident Artist)
14th: KIT CAFÉ, DUSSELDORF15th: RAINDOGS, SAVONA,
16th: CASA DEL POPOLO, FIRENZE,
17th: MERCATO SONATA, BOLOGNA,
18th: SACRED NOISE, PERUGIA,
19th: ARGO 16, VENICE,
20th: TNT, JESI (ANCONA), ITALY