https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_k12frrzw1Z7HpivoA4d48mPzcG63nO0Ak&si=Yr9k2c9VOJf8E6eO

Exact repro reissue of this Middle Eastern/jazz fusion LP, originally released by RCA in 1959. The late Ahmed Abdul-Malik was best known to jazz listeners as a bassist with Thelonious Monk, Randy Weston, Coleman Hawkins, and many others. He made a few records as a leader, with this one being his most exotic and also the hardest to find. The Brooklyn native was of Sudanese descent; in addition to playing bass on this interesting blend of Middle Eastern instruments with those from the world of jazz, he also plays oud, the forerunner to the lute. The musicians on Malik's eight originals vary from track to track. On the mournful 'La Ibky (Don't Cry),' Malik's oud shares the spotlight with a tenor sax (either Benny Golson or Johnny Griffin) plus trumpeter Lee Morgan. 'Rooh (The Soul)' features the 72-string kanoon (which is sort of a brittle-sounding and much smaller harp) played by Ahmed Yetman, along with Malik's Arco bass and the droning violin of Naim Karacand. The Middle Eastern instruments are absent during 'Searchin',' which is sort of a hard bop vehicle featuring trombonist Curtis Fuller and Jerome Richardson on flute, along with the tenor sax. 'Takseem (Solo)' omits the jazz instruments; the slowness of the variations of the music and rather piercing vocal make it harder for Western ears to comprehend." --Ken Dryden/All Music Guide