Organic Music concert at Moderna Museet, Stockholm, 1977. © Rita Knox

Kahil El’Zabar joined The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) in the 70s as a teenager, where he was mentored by AACM founder and Sun Ra Arkestra graduate Phil Cohran and cut his teeth playing with Anthony Braxton, Henry Threadgill, members of the Art Ensemble of Chicago, and Muhal Richard Abrams and Steve McCall. El’Zabar left Chicago to study African music at the University of Ghana, Accra. Returning in 1973, he founded his influential Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, before becoming the chairman of AACM 1975 for over a decade. The Ritual Trio, initially featuring Art Ensemble’s Lester Bowie and Malachi Favors, laid the framework for the equal footing of spiritual jazz and traditional African rhythm and instrumentation, pioneering his ‘spirit groove’ style. Whilst his Ritual Trio focused more on avant-garde jazz, he initially recorded with Billy Bang and Malachi Favors and the trio would feature or play with Pharoah Sanders, Archie Shepp and Lester Bowie.