Steve Reid -

Steve Reid (Jan. 29, 1944 — April 13, 2010) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader who made the 1976 albums Rhythmatism and Nova.

Background

Steve Reid was born on Jan. 29, 1944, in the South Bronx, New York City. His father played piano and organ and had performed with Chick Webb before marriage. Reid’s family later moved to Queens, three blocks from John Coltrane. Reid took up drums at sixteen after he heard Art Blakey. Papa Jo Jones and Philly Joe Jones also served as early drum models. Reid attended Adelphi University in Garden City, N.Y. He earned a B.A. in 1965 and supported college with six-night jazz jobs.

Reid began professional work at sixteen. He joined the Apollo Theatre house band under Quincy Jones during his early activity. Reid toured and recorded with Martha and the Vandellas for Motown. After Adelphi, Reid spent three years in Africa and played in Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Senegal. His documented contacts included Ghanaian drummer Guy Warren, Lagos bandleader Fela Ransome Kuti, and American pianist Randy Weston in Tangier.

Reid returned to New York and resumed session work. He recorded for James Brown and worked sessions for Dionne Warwick. He also played with Sun Ra, saxophonist Charles Tyler, and bassist Ronnie Boykins. In 1969, Reid refused the Vietnam War draft and received a four-year sentence at Lewisburg Penitentiary. He taught music and African American history inside Lewisburg before his 1971 parole.

In 1974, Reid worked with the Black artists’ collective Tribe. Reid co-founded the Legendary Master Brotherhood with saxophonist and flutist Joe Rigby, an old school friend. He established Mustevic Sound as a self-release route after larger labels declined the music he wanted on record. Reid added 1975 credits on Fresh by saxophonist Frank Lowe and In the Beginning by trumpeter Ted Daniel. Saxophonist Charles Tyler also placed him with bassist Ronnie Boykins for Voyage From Jericho. By late 1975, Reid had the Master Brotherhood, Mustevic Sound, and a self-financed New York recording plan.

Rhythmatism

Steve Reid released Rhythmatism in March 1976 on Mustevic Sound.

Rhythmatism features a Reid quintet with bassist David Wertman, pianist Les Walker, trombonist Michael Keith, and alto saxophonist Arthur Blythe. “Center of the Earth” adds baritone saxophonist Charles Tyler. Guitarist Melvin Smith and trumpeter Chris Capers also join the track.

“Kai” coils around stick-and-brush figures as Les Walker’s piano darts across the beat; Arthur Blythe’s alto line alternates flowing phrases and sharper cries above David Wertman’s rounded bass. “Rocks (for Cannonball)” careens through meandering keyboard runs, alto-led phrases, and Reid’s locked strokes while Wertman and Walker work tight against the kit. “Center of the Earth” erupts with baritone, trumpet, guitar, and small percussion, then drives a long percussion build into an extended crescendo. “C You Around” stops, regroups, and rises again around Blythe’s minor-key alto phrases.

A1. “Kai” (12:45) – Walker
A2. “Rocks (For Cannonball)” (11:04) – Walker

B1. “Center of the Earth” (4:20) – Falcon
B2. “C You Around” (12:30) – Walker
B3. “One Minute Please” (1:00) – Reid

Reid recorded Rhythmatism in November and December 1975 at Mustevic Sound Studios in New York. He produced the album; Harrison Williams and Phillip Howell engineered the sessions.

Quan created the black-and-white cover art, a panel of angular figure forms inside a rounded rectangle below the Steve Reid nameplate. Brenda Reid laid out the sleeve.

Nova

Steve Reid released Nova, credited to Steve Reid featuring The Legendary Master Brotherhood, in September 1976 on Mustevic Sound.

Nova presents a six-piece Reid group with trumpeter Ahmed Abdullah, bassist Luis Angel Falcon, reedist Joe Rigby, keyboardist Les Walker, and electric bassist Richard Williams. Abdullah supplies two titles; Walker and Rigby each contribute one. Reid shares the title-piece credit with Falcon.

“Nova” snaps through Latin-accented motion and fizzing trumpet-and-saxophone crossfire. “Lions of Juda” grinds under electric-organ figures as Ahmed Abdullah and Joe Rigby cut across the rhythm section. “Free Spirits – Unknown” spirals through a heated ensemble climb, then tightens as Reid turns cymbal play into a hard, machine-like pattern. “Long Time Black” leans into organ-marked lines and a driving beat. “Sixth House” stretches into a loose, turbulent ensemble piece around Rigby’s saxophone and Walker’s repeated piano figure.

A1. “Nova” (3:49) – Falcon, Reid
A2. “Lions of Juda” (5:37) – Abdullah
A3. “Free Spirits – Unknown” (5:48) – Walker
B1. “Long Time Black” (8:02) – Abdullah
B2. “Sixth House” (8:13) – Rigby

Reid recorded Nova in March 1976 at Studio WE in New York City. He produced the album; Ali Abuwi engineered the session. Les Ledo remixed the album at Sound Hut.

Brenda Reid designed and laid out the sleeve. The black-and-white front cover shows a close Reid portrait beneath title text and Brotherhood billing; a right-side panel repeats the six-player credit.

Postlude

After the 1976 Mustevic albums, Reid kept The Legendary Master Brotherhood in circulation through Odyssey of the Oblong Square. The album came from a January 1977 WKCR-FM performance on Jazz Alternatives in New York. Reid led bassist David Wertman, percussionist Mohammad Abdullah, and trumpeter Ahmed Abdullah. Saxophonists Arthur Blythe and Charles Tyler completed the group.

Reid remained inside the same New York loft-jazz circle through the end of the decade. He joined Arthur Blythe for The Grip and Metamorphosis, two India Navigation titles tied to Blythe’s 1977 concert work. Tyler recorded Folk and Mystery Stories with Reid at Blue Rock Studio in New York on April 13, 1980. In 1979, Reid joined guitarist Brandon Ross and bassist David Wertman in New Life Trio for Visions of the Third Eye, another Mustevic release.

In October 1981, Reid played with Tyler, trumpeter Earl Cross, and bassist Kevin Ross at Jazz Club Fasching in Stockholm. The same Swedish period placed him with pianist Per Henrik Wallin and Ross on the 1983 trio set Raw Material, issued on Dragon. By the early 2000s, Reid had settled in Lugano, Switzerland, where MSI issued the 2001 Steve Reid Quartet disc Live in Europe. CPR issued the 2002/03 Steve Reid Trio discs Trio—Invitation and Wave, while Altrisuoni issued Drum Story.

Soul Jazz returned Reid to wider circulation with Steve Reid Ensemble’s 2005 disc Spirit Walk. Keyboardist Boris Netsvetaev and electronic musician Kieran Hebden became central collaborators. Reid and Hebden first played together in Paris after a London meeting arranged through Reid’s working group. Domino issued the 2006 duo albums The Exchange Session Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, followed by the 2007/08 discs Tongues and NYC.

Reid took the ensemble to Dakar in 2007 for Daxaar, a Domino release from his first African recording trip in more than four decades. In June 2009, Reid played the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London with Hebden and saxophonist Mats Gustafsson. In 2011, Smalltown Supersound issued the concert as Live at the South Bank. Reid died of throat cancer in New York on April 13, 2010.

Discography: