Khan Jamal - Dark Warrior (SteepleChase, 1984)

This post is by Dan

Khan Jamal (vib); Charles Tyler (as, bs); Johnny Dyani (b); Leroy Lowe (d)

Recorded September 30, 1984

Khan Jamal died in January 2022 at the age of 75. He was one of my favorite discoveries in the 1980s due to his recordings on SteepleChase, Storyville, and CIMP. He could play both "inside" and "outside" and was always soulful. His final recording for SteepleChase was a brilliant tribute to John Coltrane, recorded in 2008.

Jamal's compositions tend to be simple 4-to-8 note "songs" drawn from a scale. They're not complicated but they are a good basis for developing solos. The exception is "Dark Warrior," which is a modal vamp introduced by bassist Johnny Dyani and Jamal's shimmering vibes. Charles Tyler's baritone enters ominously, and the intensity builds. The vamp shifts to a more complex meter that is not easy to count out. Jamal's solo is followed by Tyler who likes to play in the lower range of the big horn. The piece ends with a return to the opening vamp as the vibes fade over it. Nice!

Dark Warrior is a rare appearance for Tyler on a major label. He is associated with the avant garde of the late 1960s and 1970s, and he performed and recorded mostly in Europe. His contributions to Dark Warrior are surprisingly straightforward. He composed the final tune on the album, "Space Traveller," which is a lovely free-floating set of conversations among the group.

I'm also fond of the aptly titled "Whisper Sweet." I like the way that both Jamal and Tyler (this time on alto) respect the bounds of the tune rather than using it as a launching pad to outer space. Their best solo work comes on this track.

A key to the success of this album is Dyani's bass playing. Dyani appears on many albums recorded in the 1980s, and his death in 1986 robbed the jazz world of an outstanding artist. He is featured on four of our blog entries.

While none of the artists on Dark Warrior have survived, it's clear that their inspiration continues in full force, and their music remains relevant. Great jazz artists are never "out of style." Thanks to recordings, they're aways available to be discovered anew by younger generations.