Mtume -

James Mtume (January 3, 1946 – January 9, 2022) was an American jazz percussionist, keyboardist, composer, and producer with Seventies-era stints behind Miles Davis, Pharoah Sanders, Sonny Rollins, Gato Barbieri, and Eddie Henderson. He debuted as a bandleader with the 1972 Strata East release Alkebu Lan: Land of the Blacks, recorded with Gary Bartz and Buster Williams. His 1977 second, Rebirth Cycle, features Azar Lawrence and singers Jean Carn and Dee Dee Bridgewater. Between 1978 and 1986, he made five albums as the namesake of Mtume, a soul-funk group with Hubert Eaves and singer Tawatha Agee.

Members: Mtume (vocals, keyboards, congas), Reggie Lucas (guitar), Tawatha (vocals, guitar), Basil Fearington (bass), Hubert Eaves (keyboards, synthesizer), Howard King (drums, backing vocals), Philip Field (keyboards, backing vocals), Raymond Jackson (bass, guitar, synthesizer, backing vocals)

Background

James Mtume was born James Forman on Jan. 3, 1946, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His biological father was saxophonist Jimmy Heath; his mother, Bertha Forman, raised him with Philadelphia jazz pianist James “Hen Gates” Forman. Bassist Percy Heath and drummer Albert “Tootie” Heath were uncles. Mtume learned piano by ear on the family instrument, and Tootie Heath later gave him his first conga. Mtume pursued competitive swimming as a teenager and became the first Black Middle Atlantic AAU champion in the backstroke. He entered Pasadena City College on a swimming scholarship in the summer of 1966.

Mtume left college athletics for the US Organization, a Los Angeles cultural-nationalist group led by Maulana Karenga, who gave Forman the Swahili name Mtume, meaning “messenger.” Mtume participated in the first Kwanzaa observance and co-edited the 1967 US Organization booklet The Quotable Karenga with Clyde Halisi. He left the organization near the close of the decade.

Albert Heath gave Mtume his first recording assignment on Dec. 11, 1969, when he asked him to compose four of five pieces for Kawaida and play conga at The Universe in New York City. Mtume recorded the material with bassist Buster Williams, percussionist Ed Blackwell, trumpeter Don Cherry, pianist Herbie Hancock, and elders Jimmy and Albert Heath. Poet Amiri Baraka brought Mtume back East for the 1970 Newark campaign that elected Kenneth Gibson as mayor. That September, Mtume backed McCoy Tyner on Van Gelder Studio sessions for Asante, which later appeared as a 1974 Blue Note release. He followed with 1971 credits behind Art Farmer (Homecoming), Buddy Terry (Awareness), and Harold Land (A New Shade of Blue).

Mtume joined Freddie Hubbard for a Village Vanguard engagement, where Miles Davis witnessed and recruited the young percussionist for a 1971 European tour. Mtume also led the Umoja Ensemble with bassist Buster Williams, pianist Stanley Cowell, violinist Leroy Jenkins, saxophonists Gary Bartz and Carlos Garnett, drummers Ndugu and Billy Hart, poets Yusef Iman and Weusi Kuumba, and singers Andy Bey, Joe Lee Wilson, and Eddie Micheaux. Mtume led the ensemble at The East in Brooklyn on Aug. 29, 1971, for the live recording that Strata-East released the following year as Alkebu-Lan: Land of the Blacks.

1972–77 Sideman Credits

Mtume maintained a heavy sideman schedule alongside the Miles Davis group through the middle of the decade. He played conga and percussion on 1972 albums by Jimmy Heath (The Gap Sealer) and Buddy Terry (Pure Dynamite). Pharoah Sanders used Mtume alongside percussionists Lawrence Killian and Babadal Roy on 1972 sessions for Wisdom Through Music and material later issued on Love in Us All. Davis used Mtume on conga, African percussion, water drum, and rhythm box across sessions represented on On the Corner, In Concert, Big Fun, Get Up with It, Dark Magus, Agharta, and the 1975 Osaka performance released as Pangaea.

Outside the Davis band, Mtume played percussion on 1973 albums by Gato Barbieri (Bolivia) and Lonnie Liston Smith (Astral Traveling). Sonny Rollins used Mtume on Horn Culture, where he played percussion, wrote “Sais,” and played piano on the composition. Mtume added congas and percussion to 1974 albums by Carlos Garnett (Black Love) and Azar Lawrence (Bridge into the New Age). He followed with conga and percussion on 1975 albums by Ronnie Foster (Cheshire Cat) and Sonny Rollins (Nucleus).

Mtume strengthened his association with Davis guitarist Reggie Lucas after the Davis group ceased regular activity. He played congas and percussion on 1976 albums by Lucas (Survival Themes) and Eddie Henderson (Heritage). Henderson retained Mtume for the 1977 album Comin’ Through, where he multi-tasked (keyboards, congas, percussion, vocals) and wrote “Say You Will” and “Source.”

Mtume | 1978–onward Credits

The group Mtume formed in New York City in 1978 when James Mtume and Reggie Lucas extended a writing partnership that began in the group led by Miles Davis.

James Mtume joined Roberta Flack after Davis withdrew from regular performance and brought Lucas into the Flack band when she needed a guitarist. The pair wrote “The Closer I Get to You” for the 1977 Flack album Blue Lights in the Basement, a duet with Donny Hathaway. The single established Mtume and Lucas as an R&B writing team. They assembled Mtume with singer Tawatha Agee, bassist Basil Fearrington, drummer Howard King, and keyboardist Hubert Eaves III for the 1978 Epic album Kiss This World Goodbye. Agee sang on Rebirth Cycle while Eaves and King crossed paths with Mtume on mid-1970s jazz sessions.

James Mtume and Lucas developed Mtume/Lucas Productions alongside the group. They produced 1979 albums by Stephanie Mills (What Cha’ Gonna Do with My Lovin’), Phyllis Hyman (You Know How to Love Me), and Rena Scott (Come On Inside). Mtume also contributed percussion, keyboards, backing vocals, arrangements, and compositions across projects that used a recurring studio pool with Agee, Fearrington, King, and Eaves. The partnership continued with 1980/81 albums by Mills (Sweet Sensation, Stephanie), Gary Bartz (Bartz), and Marc Sadane (One-Way Love Affair). Sweet Sensation spawned “Never Knew Love Like This Before,” a Mtume–Lucas production that earned the pair a 1980 Grammy Award for Best R&B Song.

Mtume and Lucas extended the production run with 1982 albums by Mills (Tantalizingly Hot), Sadane (Exciting), Lou Rawls (Now Is the Time), and the Spinners (Can’t Shake This Feelin’). The partnership ended as each producer moved into separate projects. James Mtume rebuilt the namesake group with singer Tawatha Agee, keyboardist Philip Field, guitarist Ed “Tree” Moore, bassist Raymond Jackson, and drummer Leslie Ming for the 1983 album Juicy Fruit. Mtume retained the revised lineup for the 1984 album You, Me and He. He returned to outside musical credits with the 1985 Roy Ayers album You Might Be Surprised.