Yusuf Mumin – Journey To The Ancient LP

Description

Wewantsounds collaborates with cult musicianYusuf Muminof theBlack Unity Trioto unveil previously unreleased music from his personal archive. Following 2024’s acclaimedBlack Artist Grouprelease, this new instalment continues to unearth hidden treasures from the Great Black Music tradition. Although the exact recording dates remain unknown, the music here is a powerful blend of serene spiritual jazz and fiery sonic intensity. All tracks have been remastered for vinyl by Colorsound Studio and the release also includes a two-page insert featuring new liner notes by Mumin andPierre Crpon. In 1968, Yusuf Mumin was the blistering alto saxophone voice of the Black Unity Trio, who recorded the cult privately pressed albumAl-Fatihah, one of the most sought-after albums in the genre. After extensive but unsuccessful searches for additional material by the group,Journey to the Ancientfinally offers more unheard music from Yusuf Mumin. The album presented here draws from a selection of recordings preserved in Mumin’s private collection, revealing previously unheard layers of his experimental vision. Mumin performs under both his own name and, when multitracking revelatory double bass parts, the pseudonymDan Nuby. Born Joseph W. Phillips in 1944, Mumin became a key figure in Cleveland’s radical free jazz underground of the 1960s. Deeply influenced by spiritual and esoteric traditions, Mumin was originally drawn to “outside” playing by the sonic explorations ofYusef Lateef. Shortly afterAlbert Ayler‘s U.S. recording debut with trumpeterNorman Howard, Howard and Mumin were co-leading a group in Cleveland. Mumin’s legacy was cemented through his collaborations withAbdul WadudandHasan Shahidas the Black Unity Trio. The release includes a two-page insert featuring interview-based liner notes by Mumin and Crpon, offering fresh insight into the great history of the Cleveland scene.Journey to the Ancientcontinues Wewantsounds’ mission to unearth the hidden treasures of such visionary jazz musicians, and it’s an honor to finally present Yusuf Mumin’s cutting-edge work for the first time after it remained unheard in the vault for decades.