Faruq Z. Bey


Faruq Z. Bey was an American jazz saxophonist and composer from Detroit, Michigan. Bey was known for his work with Griot Galaxy, which played distinct compositions, often by Bey. Odd meters and polyrhythms were a frequent feature of the group's tunes, which would give way to free sections. Originally started in 1972, Griot Galaxy settled into its most stable line-up around 1980, when Bey was joined by saxophonists David McMurray and Anthony Holland, as well as bassist Jaribu Shahid and drummer Tani Tabbal. Griot Galaxy played at the 1983 Detroit Montreux Jazz Festival, and toured Europe in the mid-1980s.
In the mid-1980s Bey was in a serious motorcycle accident that left him in a coma. Almost a decade passed before he returned to performing. He re-emerged with an all woodwind ensemble called The Conspiracy Winds Ensemble. He began to play in Speaking in Tongues and Hakim Jami's Street Band. He joined forces with The Northwoods Improvisers, who devoted several releases to Bey's music. His frequent collaborators, saxophonists Michael Carey and Skeeter Shelton, joined him on most of the Northwoods Improviser's recordings. He also played in Kindred, a quartet with Kennith Green, Kevin Callaway and Joel Peterson, and in Odu Afrobeat Orchestra. Among Bey's last ensembles was The Absolute Tonalist Society with Carey, Peterson and drummer Kurt Prisbe.
Some of his most noted releases are Kins, Opus Krampus and Live at the DIA with Griot Galaxy, and Auzar and Ashirai Pattern with The Northwoods Improvisers. Bey published two books of poetry, Year of the Iron Sheep and Etudes in Wanton Nesses, in addition to a theoretical/aesthetic manifesto Toward a "Ratio"nal Aesthetic. Bey died on June 1, 2012. He had experienced long-term health issues including emphysema.

Discography

As A Leader
  • Atlan-tan Suite
With Griot Galaxy
  • Live on WUOM 1979
  • Kins
  • Live at the D.I.A.
  • The Montreux/Detroit Collection- Volume Three: Motor City Modernists
  • Opus Krampus
With Northwoods Improvisers
With His Name Is Alive
  • Silver Dragon
With Synchron
  • Synchron
With Faruq Z. Bey 4et
With Phil Ranelin
With The New Chamber Jazz Quintet
  • Beneath Detroit: The Creative Arts Collective Concerts at The Detroit Institute Of Arts 1979-92 w/ Leroy Jenkins
  • Live at the DIA: November 27, 1982 https://beneathdetroit.com/archives/the-new-chamber-jazz-quintet-from-nov-27th-1982-full-concert/
With M.L. Liebler
  • The Kurl of the Butterfly's Tongue
  • Gasoline: The Detroit Legacy Sessions
With K.A.S. Serenity
With Dr. Prof. Leonard King
  • Strata Nova - Historic 1977-1983 Recordings
  • Later Then Is Latter Now
With Keith Vreeland
  • Bad Dog
With The Sun Messengers
  • The Sun Messengers
With Hakim Jami & The Street Band
  • Volume 1
  • Volume 2
With Media Jackals
  • ''Vertical Hold''