The New Ethnic Heritage Ensemble at The North Door

The Legendary Ethnic Heritage Ensemble All Star 2016 Tour comes to Austin in March. Internationally acclaimed percussionist, composer, and band leader Kahil El’Zabar will premier a brand new Ethnic Heritage Ensemble featuring two masterful icons of the modern jazz idiom: Baritone sax giant, Hamiet Bluiett, and trombone titan, Craig Harris!
While these three giants have worked together in various collaborations for more than 40 years, they have never come together as Kahil’s Ethnic Heritage Ensemble until now. The coming together of these three important players is indeed musical history in the making!...

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The Legendary Ethnic Heritage Ensemble All Star 2016 Tour comes to Austin in March. Internationally acclaimed percussionist, composer, and band leader Kahil El’Zabar will premier a brand new Ethnic Heritage Ensemble featuring two masterful icons of the modern jazz idiom: Baritone sax giant, Hamiet Bluiett, and trombone titan, Craig Harris!
While these three giants have worked together in various collaborations for more than 40 years, they have never come together as Kahil’s Ethnic Heritage Ensemble until now. The coming together of these three important players is indeed musical history in the making!
Craig Harris has worked with such luminaries as Sun Ra, Lena Horne, Dollar Brand, David Murray, Henry Threadgill and Lester Bowie.
Hamiet Bluiett has worked with the greats like Aretha Franklin, Fontella Bass, Charles Mingus, Sam Rivers, Max Roach, Andrew Cyrille and also founded the World Saxophone Quartet.
Kahil El’Zabar has worked with musical giants such as Nina Simone, Dizzy Gillespie, Pharoah Sanders, Archie Shepp, Stevie Wonder, Donnie Hathaway, Eddie Harris, as well as founded the Ritual Trio and the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble. There is so much history in music that lies between these pivotal players, who between the three, is a discography of more than 200 acclaimed recordings.
The new EHE is music endowed with an authentic pedigree that urges to push the boundaries of creative music into the soulful heart of fresh expression! After 43 plus years of eventful music making, the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble is still reinventing itself while forging innovative pathways upon the African American musical pantheon. The coming together of these three historical and impactful figures at this particular juncture in history, will take us beyond the current trends of predictable mediocrity. Hamiet Bluiet, Craig Harris and Kahil El’Zabar are the real deal and are always ready to make real music!

This project is supported in part by individual contributors, Ruby's BBQ and the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department

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