"Baia (Boogie Bump)" - Fred Wesley

“Baia (Boogie Bump)” (PDF) from the Idris Muhammad album House Of The Rising Sun

New Orleans drummer Idris Muhammad played with everybody. As a teenager, he helped invent rock ‘n roll on the Fats Domino recording of “Blueberry Hill” and toured with classic R&B acts. His spiritual awakening occurred alongside the post-bop era of jazz, yet his playing retained its second line roots making him a sought-out drummer for soul and funk throughout the Civil Rights era. But it was arranger David Matthews, who made his name as the studio bandleader for James Brown and taught Fred Wesley the flats and sharps of it all, that assembled the all-star crew for the drummer’s House Of The Rising Sun album, including Wesley on trombone, Michael Brecker and David Sanborn on saxophones, and legendary session guitarist Eric Gale, among others.

Matthews’ arrangement of the Brazilian samba “Baia” by Ary Barroso preserves the cinematic quality of its portrayal in Walt Disney’s Three Caballeros and also follows the trend of movie themes scored for the discotheque. Similarly, Fred Wesley’s use of the sixth (A) over the dominant chord (C7) evokes the TV theme music of Quincy Jones. With all the industry names associated with this recording, Idris Muhammad’s career deserves its own biopic and soundtrack for the big screen.

Here is a YouTube video that offers a sampling of Idris Muhammad’s place in music history:

Recommended Reading: Hit Me, Fred: Recollections of a Sideman by Fred Wesley Jr. Published by Duke University Press.