Idris Ackamoor, saxophone.
Bobby Cobb, guitar.
Heshima Mark Williams, bass.
Randy Merritt, drums.

$20 cover charge; byob.
Cash or venmo at the door please; no plastic!
For a reservation, call the shop at 415-586-3733.

Premiere performance of Idris Ackamoor’s new quartet, presenting new material and kicking off a series of performances by Idris in multiple configurations — his recently formed trio with Carlos Niño and Nate Mercereau (Feb 19 at the Chapel), his long-running (since 1972), internationally acclaimed touring band, the Pyramids (April 19 at The Lab), and his Ankhestra (June 15 at SFJAZZ). The Ankhestra’s debut album “Artistic Being” is soon to be released!

It all started with the Pyramids in Paris and Africa, continued in San Francisco with Cultural Odyssey, his amazing, long-running collaboration with Rhodessa Jones, and continues on with the trio, quartet and Ankhestra!

Don’t miss this quartet stop at Bird & Beckett!

In honour of fifty years in the performing arts—dating back to the founding of the legendary band The Pyramids in 1972—Idris Ackamoor proudly presents “Artistic Being” for Record Store Day 2025. This special recording features celebrated San Francisco actor, activist, and author Danny Glover, alongside renowned stage actress Rhodessa Jones.

In February 2024 Ackamoor’s performing arts company, Cultural Odyssey, partnered with The Lab, a prominent San Francisco venue, to co-present “Underground Jazz Cabaret” during Black History Month. Ackamoor expressed: “Collaborating with Danny Glover and Rhodessa Jones, two of the most revered Artistic Beings, was a profound honour. Their unwavering dedication to ‘art as social activism’ feels more urgent and necessary than ever.” The performance brought together new and classic works from Idris Ackamoor and his Ankhestra, including members of The Pyramids. The evening’s score served as a connective thread, weaving together a libretto that spans from the haunting legacy of the Middle Passage to contemporary meditations and dreams for the future.

Both Danny Glover and Rhodessa Jones lent their distinctive voices to a series of powerful spoken-word musical tone poems. Among these were “Grandma Cole Story,” a poignant indictment of the slave trade told through the eyes of a ten-year-old African girl aboard a slave ship, and “China Lane Suite,” which explores a forbidden romance between a Chinese laundry owner and a freed slave during Reconstruction. Glover also contributed his original work, “In God’s Country,” a moving homage to his mother. The evening concluded with Ackamoor’s latest composition, “Now!,” a striking reflection on the crises facing the Middle East today. All the narratives were underscored by an evocative score composed and arranged by Ackamoor himself, performed by his newly expanded 14-piece Ankhestra.

This performance not only celebrated a milestone in Ackamoor’s illustrious career but also exemplified the transformative power of art in addressing the pressing social issues of our time.