- Griot Galaxy
Griot Galaxy [ [http://www.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=5001 Detroit Metro Times] ] was an
avant-garde jazz band led byDetroit saxophonist and poetFaruq Z. Bey . The band was founded in 1972 with drummerTani Tabbal , bassistJaribu Shahid , and saxophonists Bey,Anthony Holland andDavid McMurray . Their first recorded appearance is often cited as coming from a 1976 album byPhil Ranelin entitled "Vibes from the Tribe". Bey is featured with Ranelin on a track called "He the One We All Know" with drummerTariq Samad andDavid Abdul Kahafiz onzeetar . Bey is credited as Faruk Hanif Bey.The first recording by Griot Galaxy proper was 1981's "Kins", released on
Black and White records. In 1983, two tracks appeared on an LP called "The Montreux Detroit Collection, vol. 3: Motor City Modernists", recorded at Detroit'sMontreux Jazz Festival . A 1983 performance at theDetroit Institute of Arts (DIA) was recorded, but shelved until it was released byEntropy Stereo in 2003.Throughout 1984, Griot Galaxy toured extensively in Europe. A live recording from Austria was released as "Opus Krampus" by the German label
Sound Aspects . Unfortunately, this was the last recording of the group, which officially disbanded in 1989 after Bey was involved in a serious motorcycle accident five years prior.References
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