Hasaan Ibn Ali

Hasaan Ibn Ali
Birth name William Henry Lankford, Jr.
Born May 6, 1931
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Died 1980?
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Genres Jazz
Occupation(s) Musician, composer
Instruments Piano
Years active Late 1940s–?
Associated acts John Coltrane, Elmo Hope, Odean Pope, Max Roach

Hasaan Ibn Ali (born William Henry Lankford, Jr.; May 6, 1931 – 1980?) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Several recordings of his playing may exist, but only one – The Max Roach Trio featuring the Legendary Hasaan – has been released. Hasaan built a reputation in Philadelphia, where he influenced musicians including John Coltrane, but he remained little known. Drummer Donald Bailey, in a 2008 interview with writer Don Alberts, said, "And who was [Thelonious] Monk's idol? Hasaan Ibn Ali. Nobody knows that!" ."[1]


Life and career

Hasaan was born William Henry Lankford, Jr.[2]:389 in Philadelphia on May 6, 1931.[3][4] In 1946 (aged 15) he toured with trumpeter Joe Morris's rhythm and blues band.[3][5] In 1950 he played locally with Clifford Brown, Miles Davis, J. J. Johnson, Max Roach, and others.[3] Based in Philadelphia, Hasaan did freelance work and built a reputation locally as "an original composer and theorist", in musicologist Lewis Porter's words.[5]

Hasaan played with Horace Arnold in New York City in 1959,[6] and again in 1961–62, this time in a trio with Henry Grimes.[4] Hasaan remained an obscure figure[3] until his only released recording – The Max Roach Trio featuring the Legendary Hasaan,[7] which was recorded on December 4 and 7, 1964.[8] The trio contained drummer Roach and bassist Art Davis and the album consisted of seven tracks, all written by Hasaan.[8] Alan Sukoenig, in his liner notes to the album, wrote "For a while it appeared that it was Hasaan Ibn Ali's destiny to be known – to those who had heard of him at all – as the extraordinary jazz pianist from Philadelphia who had never made a record."[9] A contemporary reviewer commented that "One's first reaction is astonishment at the blazing finger technique, [...] and the complete individuality of his harmonics [sic]".[10] Later, AllMusic reviewer Scott Yanow described Hasaan's playing on the album as "intense, somewhat virtuosic and rhythmic, yet often melodic in a quirky way".[8]

The recording session was initiated by Roach, who used his influence with the owner of Atlantic Records to secure the session for Hasaan.[11] According to Roach, on visits to New York Hasaan went from club to club to play, and sometimes went to the drummer's home in the middle of the night to continue playing, alone, on the piano there.[11] After the album, Hasaan returned to obscurity.[12] According to music journalist Tom Moon, Hasaan was "Described by (usually tolerant) jazz musicians as eccentric and/or unstable".[12] Saxophonist Odean Pope, who was mentored by Hasaan, stated that the pianist "was so advanced that musicians shied away from him. [...] He was very dedicated, very sincere, but also very outspoken [...] If he were in a club, and the pianist wasn't making it, Hasaan would push him right off the bench and start playing himself."[13]

Hasaan made a second studio recording, with Pope, but the master tape was said to have been destroyed in a fire at the record label's warehouse.[7][14] There were two dates (August 23 and September 7, 1965), and the other musicians were Odean Pope (tenor saxophone), Art Davis (bass), and Khalil Madi (drums).[14] The Library of Congress has a 1964 recording of a Hasaan solo improvisation, recorded at Roach's home.[15] A JazzTimes writer described it in 2014 as "Thoroughly modern with a whimsical rhythmic undertow and wayward melodic passages, it sounds like a new Jason Moran composition."[15]

"Reckless with his health, Hasaan died young", commented writer Geoffrey Haydon in 2002.[11] The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz states that Hasaan died in Philadelphia in 1980 (aged 48 or 49).[4]

Influences

Jazz critic Kenny Mathieson described Hasaan as "An Elmo Hope acolyte with a rhythmic quirkiness that had him compared with [Thelonious] Monk and [Herbie] Nichols".[16] Hasaan himself credited Hope with being his main inspiration: "by meeting Mr Hope it was like talking to and having acquaintance with the mystery of music, who explained not by the ruler or lip but with music. So from him I heard how to learn."[9]

Legacy

Pope credits Hasaan with influencing saxophonist John Coltrane's sheets of sound approach.[2]:99 Hasaan examined the possibilities of playing fourths, and of using "chord progressions that moved by seconds or thirds instead of fifths, in playing a variety of scales and arpeggios against each chord" – features later used extensively in Coltrane's playing.[5] A home recording of Hasaan playing with Coltrane and others in 1952 may exist.[2]:389

Pope also commented that "every important musician who came out of this area [Philadelphia] in the fifties and sixties, including McCoy Tyner, learned from him."[13]

References

  1. ↑ Alberts, Don (2011) A Diary of the Underdogs. p. 120. Chill House Publishers. ISBN 9780557232703.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 DeVito, Chris; Fujioka, Yasuhiro; Schmaler, Wolf; Wild, David (2008) The John Coltrane Reference. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-97755-5.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Lee, Bill & Lee, William F. (1984) People in Jazz. p. 163. Columbia Lady Music.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Kennedy, Gary W. "Hasaan". The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz (2nd edition). Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. Retrieved July 24, 2014. (Subscription required.)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Porter, Lewis (1998) John Coltrane: His Life and Music. p. 88. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978-0-472-10161-0.
  6. ↑ Feather, Leonard & Gitler, Ira (1999) The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-988640-1.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Sharpe, John (15 January 2013) "Alexander Hawkins: Retaining the Sense of Discovery". All About Jazz.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Yanow, Scott "Max Roach – The Max Roach Trio Featuring the Legendary Hasaan". AllMusic. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Sukoenig, Alan. In The Max Roach Trio Featuring the Legendary Hasaan. [LP liner notes]. Atlantic 1435.
  10. ↑ "Jazz Idols off and on the Record". (October 26, 1965) The Glasgow Herald. p. 7.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Haydon, Geoffrey (2002) Quintet of the Year. p. 267. Aurum. ISBN 978-1-55199-110-8.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Moon, Tom (2008) 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die. p. 648. Workman Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7611-3963-8.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Davis, Francis (1990) Outcats: Jazz Composer, Instrumentalists, and Singers. p. 108. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-505587-0.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Fitzgerald, Michael (October 1, 2011) "Hasaan Ibn Ali Leader Entry". jazzdiscography.com
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Murph, John (April 29, 2014) "The Max Roach Collection at the Library of Congress". JazzTimes.
  16. ↑ Mathieson, Kenny (2012) Giant Steps: Bebop and the Creators of Modern Jazz. Canongate. ISBN 978-0-85786-617-2.