The Manrilla Blog | Life. Art. Religion. Culture.

Check it out! Dr. J’s [Dr. Sherman ‘Abd al-Hakim Jackson] back in town (well, NYC, specifically). Here’s the details.

I decided [while studying for finals] that my blog needed a new update. So I went to WordPress and downloaded some new, funky templates and here we are. And while we’re switching over from Blogger, please excuse any bugs as we’ll be ironing them out for the next few days. Enjoy.

Chicago War Protests - Study #5, © 2002 Marc Manley Photography

You know, it’s tempting to give in to the various conspiracy theories out there. I mean, when you look at events that are unfolding before us these days, it really seems as if this is so scripted, so purposeful, that it’s just gotta be a conspiracy.

I’m gonna warn you right now - this post may ramble a bit, but, like any chase worth the take, just try and stay with me. Read more this entry »

Lotus Tree Productions is going to be offering a spiritual intensive. Classes will be taught by Philadelphia’s own, Imam Luqman Ahmad. For more information, visit the Lotus Tree Blog for more info or click here.

Yep. Finals are almost here. I’m on lock-down in the house trying to desperately stuff knowledge in my head. Well, it’s not so bad. I’ve got a lovely view out of the window of pigeons nestled on the power lines. That, combined with the rain and some Gill Evans and the new Charles Lloyd album, Jumping The Creek (review coming soon on the Music Blog) has made for a meditative day. Only two shots for you today.

Self Portrait, South Philly

Pigeon - Study Companion, South Philly

Enjoy.

I wished I had had more time to write earlier but school and work have taken a toll momentarily on my blogging. But I would like to share this bit about Jackie McLean’s passing. He is one of my musical heroes and I am deeply sadden by his passing. Read here.

I have been wanting to write something about Omar Ahmed Abdul Kariem, a.k.a., Jackie McLean, who passed away on March 30^th, at the age of 74. I have found few musicians who’s music is repeatedly listenable as McLean’s. My favorite album of his is Jacknife, originally a two-LP release that was tinged with Eastern rhythms and modal structures. On The Nile, the first track I heard off of Jacknife really transported me to a place. I cannot say if it was the Nile but it was a Nile that McLean had envisioned. That’s what I loved about him. His music could truly transport you somewhere. But McLean could also just flat out burn! Coming solidly out of the bop tradition, Jackie digested the entire be-bop language, internalized it and then fashioned it anew in his own sight and sound. Be it a ballad, a standard or one of his own out originals, Jackie could swing. My saddest regret with all of this is that I never had a chance to meet him or hear him live. When I was studying and playing jazz, McLean’s sound (along with Dexter Gordon and John Coltrane) was heavily influential. I respected him for his bold originality while still being tied to the jazz tradition. It seems I have been born at a time when many of the greats have already left us or are in such poor health, many are not playing. Jackie’s music becomes precious to me now. I hope that other people will discover the brilliant musician that was Jackie McLean - a.k.a., Omar Ahmed Abdul Kariem; may God have mercy on his soul.

“Gimme a freakin’ break, lady.” - That was my internal response to a discussion I had with a group of white kids the other day while attending class. We were talking about the recent beating of a bi-racial man (let’s not call him black cuz that’d mean it was a black-n-white thing, which of course it ain’t) in Milwaukee. It truly, truly amazes me that in this day and age of “enlightenment” that folks simply cannot come to grips that certain parts of the society have got some damned issues. To put is bluntly, white folks is got some problems with niggaz. Yeah, I said it - cuz I’m mad as shit. Last year, yours truly had several nice run-ins with the police in Wisconsin (the Madison area - Wisconsin’s little bastion of liberalism [please…]) where I was both held at gun point (police were looking for a black male - came to find out they were looking for a 5′6″ man with a pony tail whereas I am 6′5″ and no, I don’t have a pony tail - perhaps the dispatcher was dyslexic) and then retaliated against me when I complained against the offending officer, which resulted with me spending a night in jail. When talking about this recent incident, many of the white students said it wasn’t a racial problem but a problem with the police. That the reason that the police beat the man is because either a) he deserved it or b) the police were bad people and would have beat up anyone. Of course, the fact that the officers basically gang jumped him, shoved objects in his orifices and called him racial epithets had nothing to do with the color of his skin. Read more this entry »