Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids

Idris Ackamoor, a veteran of Cecil Taylor’s Black Music Ensemble, is one of those cosmic jazz warriors who, like Pharoah Sanders and Marshall Allen, simply never stopped.

In 2016, the inspirational Ackamoor reformed his ‘70s Afro-jazz outfit The Pyramids to release the acclaimed album We Be All Africans on Strut. In the time of Kamasi Washington, Shabaka Hutchings and Esperanza Spalding et al, Ackamoor’s music once again feels very vital.

The Pyramids’ signature sound combines spiritual jazz with a heavy dose of Frafra music from Northern Ghana, a result of an extended 1972 tour on the continent that included a visit to the Ghanaian town of Bolgatanga. Some 45 years after that initial connection, the Pyramids collaborated with Kologo star Guy One for a uniquely Afrofuturist single “Tinoge Ya Ta’a Ba.”

Between these new black Atlantic collaborations and the buzz around We Be All Africans, it’s arguable that Ackamoor’s star has never shone brighter than right now.