Drummer and percussionist Hamid Drake (b. 1955) has performed at the Tampere Jazz Happening on ten occasions since 1992, and this time he will be joining the chorus with his own special project publicly paying homage to Alice Coltrane, though he is no late convert to the cause.

Drake remembers meeting Coltrane at the very beginning of the 1970s in his home city of Chicago – they conversed, changed addresses and he gave her a couple of books on the Baháʼí Faith after a concert. According to Drake, one of the meditations in the books (”O My God and My Master. . .”) later found its way in the inner cover of Alice Coltrane’s fifth album, Universal Consciousness (1971).

But what can we presume about Honoring Alice Coltrane, the concept by Drake which has only been performed a couple of times before? The information so far unveiled indicates that it will at the least not be a work of interpretive imitation, but primarily a chase for the spirit of a seeker of its eponymous icon. With an international line-up including the French dancer and spoken word artist Ndoho Ange and the Norwegian electronic mastermind Jan Bang, a truly explorative piece could well be expected.

PHOTOS © ZIGA KORITNIK, ROSSETTI PHOCUS

MUSICIANS Ndoho Ange – dance Sheila Maurice Grey – trumpet, vocals Jan Bang – electronics Jamie Saft – piano, keyboards Pasquale Mirra – vibraphone Joshua Abrams – double bass, guimbri Hamid Drake – drums, percussion, vocals