Vibraphonist Rickey Kelly entered music history above all through his work with the avant-garde jazz big band Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra. Also created in the Californian metropolis, this remarkable album was initiated by him as early as 1979. For My Kind of Music, the then music student was able to gather an illustrious group of fellow musicians: alongside the outstanding flautist Adele Sebastian, who died young, Billy Higgins stands out in particular – house drummer for the legendary Blue Note label.
The first two tracks immediately mark out the range in which the ensemble moves. Until then, Kelly had worked with none of the musicians. And yet their interplay sounds tight, while remaining free enough to keep lifting off. The opening track »The Ark« is a classically swinging spiritual jazz piece, in which one accomplished solo follows the next – with Kelly’s crystalline vibraphone sparkling especially brightly.
The second piece, »The Masai«, presents itself as a brightly meandering trip that feels almost psychedelic: African rhythms and percussion lines interlock while still breathing freely – grounded by a breathing groove. Then come birdsong, inviting associations of a walk through tropical terrain. And again and again, Kelly’s shimmering, hovering vibraphone.
My Kind Of Music
