Islam and mid-20th century African-American music
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"Although Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane did not become Ahmadi Muslims, they were influenced by the spirit of Islam bought by the Ahmadis. A Love Supreme, one of Coltrane's greatest pieces of work, considered by some as the greatest jazz album of all time, was deeply influenced by the work of the Ahmadiyya movement. In the liner notes of the album, Coltrane repeatedly echoes Basmala, the opening verse of almost every chapter of the Quran: "Now and again through the unerring hand of God, I do perceive his ... Omnipotence ... He is Gracious and Merciful."" |
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The Ahmadiyya movement was the main channel through which many African-American musicians were introduced to Islam during the mid-20th century. It was contended that converting to a Muslim faith provided spiritual protection from harmful pitfalls that accompanied the profession, alongside a safeguard from the stigma of white supremacy. Islam was a force which impeded the deterioration of the mind and body through physical and spiritual deterrents. For example, by teaching the importance of keeping the body as well as the spirit clean, it offered an opportunity to clear the musicians from the labyrinth of American oppression and the myths about black Americans. Some Ahmadi converts included Ahmad Jamal, a pianist from Chicago; Dakota Staton, a vocalist and her husband, Talib Dawud, a trumpeter, both from Philadelphia; and Yusef Lateef, a Grammy Award-winning saxophonist from New York City, who became the spokesperson for the U.S. Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. Other members of the Community included the drummer Art Blakey, the double bassist Ahmed Abdul-Malik, the reed player Rudy Powell, the saxophonist Sahib Shihab, the pianist McCoy Tyner, and the trumpeter Idrees Sulieman. Blakey was introduced to Ahmadiyya through Dawud, and the two started a Quran study group as well a rehearsal band from Blakey's apartment in Philadelphia. The latter evolved into an influential Jazz combo, The Jazz Messengers, led by the drummer, Art Blakey. The term "messengers" in Islam refers to a group of people assigned to special missions by God to guide humankind. In Ahmadiyya in particular, the term amalgamated with "Jazz" embodied a form of an American symbolism of the democratic promise of Islam's universalism. Initially an all Muslim group, the group attracted a large number of jazz musicians.
The Muslim faith began to grow among musicians when some of the early Ahmadi musicians began to raise money in order to bring and support Ahmadiyya missionaries from the Indian subcontinent. Articles on Ahmadi musicians would be published across popular publications. In 1953, Ebony published articles, such as "Moslem Musicians" and "Ancient religion attracts Moderns," although the magazine attempted to downplay the influence of Islam. Despite the fact that the role of music in Islam was a subject of debate among the South Asian Ahmadis, the musicians, whilst donning Islamic attire, combined Islamic themes and their struggle for civil rights in their recordings. At times sounds from the Middle East and Asia would be assimilated into the songs. This would give rise to song titles such as Abdullah's Delight, Prayer to the East and Eastern Clouds.
