BIRD & BECKETT CULTURAL LEGACY PROJECT
The tradition resumes!
The Ethnic Heritage Ensemble travels out of Chicago each February for a tour with stops all around the country. Percussionist Kahil El’Zabar leads the trio, featuring Corey Wilkes on trumpet and Alex Harding on baritone sax.
The EHE first visited Bird & Beckett in February 2017 and made stops here in February 2018 and 2019, and on January 31, 2020, before the pandemic put a stop to their travels for two years. We’re delighted to have them return!
Reservations highly suggested. Call 415-586-3733.
Doors open 15 minutes before the show. BYOB.
Sir Kahil El’Zabar was born in 1953 in Chicago, attended Kennedy-King and Malcolm X City Colleges of Chicago before enrolling at Lake Forest College, in Lake Forest, Illinois, and also studied at the University of Ghana.
In 1969, El’Zabar performed with Eugene Ammons in St. Louis and Cincinnati. In 1973, he founded the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble. El’Zabar also founded Ritual Trio and the Kahil El’Zabar Quartet.
His fifty-plus album discography includes We Is >> Live At The Bop Shop, Live at the River East Art Center, Big M: A Tribute to Malachi Favors, and Ooh Live among others. El’Zabar is the founder of OOHnow, a cultural e-commerce network established in 2008. He also has served as the artistic director of the Chicago Academy of Music. El’Zabar was the subject of the documentary film Be Known: The Mystery of Kahil El’Zabar, by filmmaker Dwayne Johnson-Cochran. El’Zabar has performed with musicians including Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, and Nina Simone.
Kahil El’Zabar joined the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians in 1970, becoming chair in 1975. In 2002, he was named percussionist of the year by the Jazz Journalists Association. El’Zabar was named the 2006 Chicagoan of the Year by the Chicago Tribune. In 2008, he became the artist-in-residence of the City of Bordeaux, France, and, in 2014, was knighted by the French government, receiving the Chevalier Medal of Letters.
These are no small accomplishments.
His latest album, “America the Beautiful” was released in 2021.
Listen to an interview with Kahil on the release of the new album at this link.
Call for a reservation! (415) 586-3733.