Orgy in Rhythm

A version of the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble - founder, vocalist and percussionist extraordinaire Kahil El'Zabar, Ernest Dawkins on saxes (and percussion) and trumpeter (and percussionist) Corey Wilkes - played two sets at Ottawa's Mercury Lounge on Thursday night. The EHE has been a going concern for 35 years now, and though I've only been aware of them for a fraction of that time, I have to assume the group, under El'Zabar's constant direction and leadership, have always been an incredible thing to witness, an unflaggingly engaging and creative act, both live and on record.

I first saw them play as a quartet at that very same Mercury Lounge ten years ago as a part of a series called Chicago Now! - a concert series curated by El'Zabar which brought some of the best of that city's musicians to Ottawa; Ken Vandermark, Fred Anderson, Jeff Parker, Rob Mazurek and El'Zabar's Ritual Trio, among others.

A couple of years later, the EHE played the Mercury on consecutive nights, and I bought tickets to both shows. The first night, I went with a good friend (and current IMC member), and he loved it. I remember both being particularly moved when the group, at the end of the first set, marched off the stage while still playing hand drums, and moved through the crowd chanting the AACM motto, "Great Black Music, Great Black Music, Great Black Music..."

I attended the second concert alone, which seemed a liberating thing to do. I remember, I was sitting at the railing of the small balcony at the Mercury Lounge, and after one particularly fiery song had ended, I overheard a couple next to me. She said, "Kiss me." And after they had done so her companion asked, "What was that?" She said to him, "I wanted to see if we could generate that kind of passion," and nodded toward the stage. A silly exchange, I guess, but it illustrates the power the EHE can exert on an audience.

And this past Thursday night was no exception. I am no expert at estimating crowd size, but perhaps a hundred people enjoyed two exuberant, passionate sets on Valentine's Day. Miles Davis' "All Blues" appeared again, as it had the previous night in Montreal (see Ron's account), as well as several pieces from the group's excellent Delmark releases. And there were a couple of pieces that I can't identify, and probably don't need to. Sometimes the archivist impulse is too strong in me. They were trio improvisations, simply put, and Dawkins, Wilkes and the leader all acquitted themselves beautifully.

I had a chance to speak briefly with both El'Zabar and Dawkins after the show, and I thanked them, and told them that each time I saw them perform, I was convinced I had seen the best concert of my life. And then I left the bar, impressed and happy for what I had seen, but perhaps just a bit jealous, too, of all those people who had that night seen the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble for the first time, because it was for many of them, I suspect, just as Aidian had said the night before, the sort of thing they would remember twenty years from now.