Abdul Wadud (musician)

American cellist (1947–2022)

Abdul Wadud
Wadud in 1976
Background information
Birth name	Ronald Earsall DeVaughn^[1]
Born	(1947-04-30)April 30, 1947 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Died	August 10, 2022(2022-08-10) (aged 75) Cleveland
Genres	Jazz, avant-garde jazz, classical
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instrument(s)	Cello
Years active	1965–2022

Musical artist

Abdul Wadud (born Ronald Earsall DeVaughn; April 30, 1947 – August 10, 2022) was an American cellist known for his work in jazz and classical settings.^[2] Jazz musician and fellow composer Tomeka Reid hailed Abdul Wadud's "Camille" in a 2020 feature in the New York Times on music that one could play to make friends fall in love with the cello.^[3]

His son is R&B singer Raheem DeVaughn.^[4]

Wadud died on August 10, 2022, at the age of 75.^[4]

Discography

As leader

1977: By Myself Bishara, 1978
1976: Live In New York (with Julius Hemphill) Red Records, 1978
1979: Straight Ahead/Free At Last (with Leroy Jenkins) Red
1984: I've Known Rivers (with James Newton & Anthony Davis) Gramavision
1986: Black Swan Quartet (with Akbar Ali, Eileen Folson & Reggie Workman) Minor Music
1990: Trio^2 (with James Newton & Anthony Davis) Gramavision
1993: Oakland Duets (with Julius Hemphill) Music & Arts

As sideman

Black Unity Trio – Al-Fatihah (1971) Salaam
Frank Lowe – Fresh (1974) Black Lion
George Lewis – Shadowgraph 5 (1977) Black Saint
Charles "Bobo" Shaw – The Streets of St. Louis (1977)
Oliver Lake – Shine! (1978)
Barry Altschul – Another Time/Another Place (1978) Muse
Michael Franks – Tiger In The Rain (1979) Warner Brothers
Muhal Richard Abrams – Rejoicing with the Light (Black Saint, 1983)
David Murray – The People's Choice (1988) Columbia
Marty Ehrlich Dark Woods Ensemble – Emergency Peace (1991) New World
Juma Sultan's Aboriginal Music Society – Father of Origin (Eremite, 2011) recorded in 1970–1971

With James Newton

Paseo Del Mar (1978)
Portraits (1982)
Romance And Revolution (1986)

With Julius Hemphill

Dogon A.D. (Mbari, 1972)
Coon Bid'ness (Mbari, 1975)
Raw Materials and Residuals (Black Saint, 1977)
Flat-Out Jump Suite (Black Saint, 1980)
Live from the New Music Cafe (Music & Arts, 1991)
The Boyé Multi-National Crusade for Harmony (New World, 2021)

With Arthur Blythe

Light Blue: Arthur Blythe Plays Thelonious Monk (1983) Columbia
Illusions (1980) Columbia
The Grip (1977) India Navigation
Metamorphosis (1977) India Navigation

With Anthony Davis

Of Blues And Dreams (1978) Sackville
Epistemes (1981)
Undines (1986)

References

^ "Abdul Wadud, Cellist Who Crossed Musical Boundaries, Dies at 75". The New York Times. August 18, 2020. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
^ Allmusic
^ "5 Minutes That Will Make You Love the Cello". The New York Times. June 3, 2020. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
^ ^a ^b Johnson, Martin (August 12, 2022). "Abdul Wadud, expressive cellist who blazed a trail in improvised music, dies at 75". NPR. Retrieved August 12, 2022.

External links

Abdul Wadud at AllMusic
Abdul Wadud discography at Discogs
Wanek, Joel; Reid, Tomeka (December 2016). "By Myself: An Interview with Abdul Wadud". Point of Departure.
Crépon, Pierre (March 2020). "The Blistering Cosmic Music of The Black Unity Trio". The Wire.
Lee, David (December 2020). "Knocking Down Barriers: An Interview with Abdul Wadud, 1980". Point of Departure.
Obituary from National Public Radio
Obituary from JazzTimes
Crépon, Pierre (August 2022). "Cleveland memories of Abdul Wadud". The Wire.
Shteamer, Hank (May 1, 2023). "Abdul Wadud's Cosmic Cello Music Gets Another Moment in the Sun". The New York Times.