| Faruq Z. Bey | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Jesse Davis |
| Born | 1941/1942 (age 69–70) |
| Origin | Detroit, Michigan, USA |
| Genres | Free jazz |
| Occupations | Musician, poet |
| Instruments | Saxophone |
| Associated acts | Griot Galaxy |
Faruq Z. Bey (born Jesse Davis, 1941 or 1942[1]) is a jazz saxophonist and composer from Detroit, Michigan, USA. He is best known for his work with Griot Galaxy. Griot Galaxy played hard free jazz with distinct compositions, often by Bey. Odd meters and polyrhythms were a frequent feature of the group's tunes, which would give way to free sections. Originally started in 1972, Griot Galaxy settled into its most stable line-up around 1980, when Bey was joined by saxophonists David McMurray and Anthony Holland, as well as bassist Jaribu Shahid and drummer Tani Tabal. Popular in Detroit for a free jazz band (often pulling audiences of a few hundred people), Griot toured Europe in the mid-1980s and was at the height of its international acclaim when Bey was in a serious motorcycle accident that left him in a coma.[1]
Almost a decade passed before Bey returned to performing. He re-emerged with an all woodwind ensemble called The Conspiracy Winds Ensemble. He began to play in Speaking in Tongues and Hakim Jami's Street Band. He joined forces with The Northwoods Improvisers, who have devoted several releases to Bey's music. His frequent collaborators, saxophonists Michael Carey and Skeeter Shelton, join him on most of the Northwoods Improviser's recordings. He also currently plays in Kindred – a quartet with Kennith Green, Kevin Callaway and Joel Peterson – and in Odu Afrobeat Orchestra.
Some of his most noted releases are: Kins, Opus Krampus and Live at the DIA with Griot Galaxy and Auzar and Ashirai Pattern with The Northwoods Improvisers.
Bey has published two books of poetry, Year of the Iron Sheep and Etudes in Wanton Nesses, in addition to a theory book Toward a "Ratio"nal Aesthetic (1989).