Home » Jazz Articles » Take Five With... » Take Five With Mwalim *7)

Take Five With Mwalim *7)

By AAJ Staff
August 17, 2009
View read count

Meet Mwalim *7):

Mwalim is the type of soul artist who embodies the time-honored tradition of the multifaceted singer, songwriter and producer. Emerging from the east coast small club circuit, followed by several years lending his talents to other artists projects and a writer, musician, and producer.

Instrument(s):

Piano, voice, African percussion, viola.

Teachers and/or influences?

Allan Nurse,

Barry Harris

piano
1929 - 2021

" data-original-title="" title="">Barry Harris,

Thelonious Monk

piano
1917 - 1982

" data-original-title="" title="">Thelonious Monk, Dennis Slaughter, Bernie Worrell.

I knew I wanted to be a musician when...

I heard my grandfather play the piano at age one.

Your sound and approach to music:

I'm a laidback groove player, although I treat the keyboard like a percussion instrument. I allow the left and right hands to play a call and response game, where bass lines, chords and melodies are used to set the mood.

Your teaching approach:

Mistakes are a part of growth, exploration is a part of regiment, and you should find your voice in the trails of those who influence you.

Your dream band:

Give me Tony Thompson on drums, Angel Rodriguez on percussion, Kona Khasu on bass,

Vernon Reid

guitar
b.1958

" data-original-title="" title="">Vernon Reid on guitars and the Memphis Horns.

Road story: Your best or worst experience:

My best experience happened one night in NYC when I played a small venue and discovered that

Gil Scott-Heron

vocals
1949 - 2011

" data-original-title="" title="">Gil Scott-Heron was in the room and wanted to meet me. When I came over, he looked me up and down, and said, "I heard there was a kid in town who sounded like me," and then walked away.

My worst experience was playing a gig that got shut down by the cops, who decided to run checks on the whole band so they could "meet their arrest quota" for the month. Luckily, everybody was clean, but it was quite scary.

Favorite venue:

The Black Spot Cafe—Hyannis, MA

Bar Nun—Washington DC

The Five Spot—Brooklyn, NY

The Lizard Lounge—Cambridge, MA

University College of Bangor -Bangor, ME

Univ of Mass Amherst—Amherst, MA

Morgan State College, Baltimore, MD

Nuyorican Poet's Cafe—New York, NY

The Baggot Inn—New York, NY.

Your favorite recording in your discography and why?

"Will I Ever" is my favorite tune. It's a very free, happy and simple tune with a flowing melody.

The first Jazz album I bought was:

Head Hunters by

Herbie Hancock

piano
b.1940

" data-original-title="" title="">Herbie Hancock.

What do you think is the most important thing you are contributing musically?

My sound and style is a grassroots breath of fresh air.

Did you know...

I love bag-pipe music.

CDs you are listening to now:

Stephen Scott

piano
b.1950

" data-original-title="" title="">Stephen Scott, Renaissance (Verve);

King Britt, When The Funk Hits The Fan (Six Degrees);

Grant Green

guitar
1935 - 1979

" data-original-title="" title="">Grant Green, Feelin' The Spirit (Blue Note).

Desert Island picks:

James Brown

vocals
1933 - 2006

" data-original-title="" title="">James Brown, Say It Loud (King);

Thelonious Monk, Straight No Chaser (Columbia/Sony);

The Bass Mint Bros, Sketches of a Neighborhood (Liberation/ MGM).

How would you describe the state of jazz today?

Jazz is an antiseptic wake, where the purists are the pall bearers and the innovators are being rejected for blasphemy.

What are some of the essential requirements to keep jazz alive and growing?

Celebrating our roots and accepting our growth.

What is in the near future?

About to release a new project, The Liberation Sessions: Collaborations, Compositions, & Remixes (Liberation Music/MGM, 2009); Finishing an album for vocalist Phillip Aaron, Come Along; and completing my solo album, The Bronx Jazz (Liberation Music/MGM, 2010).

By Day:

Assoc. Prof. of English at UMass Dartmouth.

If I weren't a jazz musician, I would be:

Dead.

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Anything Goes
< Previous

Medeski Martin & Wood: Radiolarians ...
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.