Abdullah

There are three artists known under the name of Abdullah. First, following in the influences of Black Sabbath and Sisters of Mercy, the Richfield, OH-based Abdullah got together in 1998 through drummer and vocalist Jeff Shirilla. Accompanied by guitarist Al Seibert, the duo brought on their hybrid of doom metal from their own Rage of Achilles Records and released their debut EP "Snake Lore" in 1999. There is also second artist using this name, who released the single "I Comma Zimba Zio (Here I Stand The Mighty One)/"Why Them, Why Me" on Motown Records in 1968. How the man Joseph McLean recording under his Muslim name Abdullah came to be signed by Motown isn't made clear in the notes, but this was his only record, 'cause he was dropped after charging into a white Motown employees office, calling him a blue-eyed devil and pushing a letter opener up under his chin. And third is Ahmed Abdullah, real name - Leroy Bland Jazz trumpet player, born on May 10, 1947, in Harlem, New York, USA. Played with the Sun Ra Arkestra between 1975 and 1997. Leroy Bland began performing at age 13 in his native New York City. By the 1970s he was performing in New York's loft scene, and joined the Sun Ra Arkestra in 1976, working there on and off until 1993, when Sun Ra died. During that time Abdullah participated in more than 25 recordings and traveled extensively with Sun Ra. He has performed with Chico Freeman, Charles Brackeen, Steve Reid, John Hicks and Marion Brown, among others. He led his own "Solomonic Quintet" and recorded for Silkheart and Cadence Jazz. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.