Upon first glance, you might not think Kahil El’Zabar, 70, is a spiritual jazz musician. That’s not to say avant-jazz guys can’t be chic, but rarely do they look this dapper. In 1974, he founded the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble as a quartet blurring the edges of traditional jazz, Afrocentric rhythms and cosmic expanse. Much like the Pyramids, the Ohio-based band that wore African finery and played polyrhythmic arrangements lifted from the continent, El’Zabar’s group wasn’t fully appreciated by American listeners. The quartet came at a time when jazz musicians started blending their sounds with stadium-sized funk and rock, and psychedelic African jazz was considered a bridge too far.

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Persons: That’s, “, ”, ‘, I’m, El’Zabar Organizations: Moxy Locations: Williamsburg , Brooklyn, ’, Ohio