David Dalle
Thursday April 29th, 2021 with David Dalle
Hasaan Ibn Ali's lost album "Metaphysics", heard for the first time after 56 years. A farewell to Hindustani singer Rajan Mishra.

Today we say farewell to the great Indian classical singer Rajan Mishra, who succumbed to Covid-19 earlier this week. Rajan Mishra and his younger brother Sajan were leading exponents of the Benares gharana. They performed as a duo for decades, since the 1970's, touring the world and sharing their virtuosity and sensitive command of raga. I had the enormous pleasure of seeing them perform twice in Ottawa, the best Hindustani vocal I have heard live. We will hear a lengthy live recording of Raag Salag Barari Todi in the second half of today's show. However, we will begin with a brand new release of a recording thought to have been lost forever. Born in Philadelphia in 1931, pianist Hasaan Ibn Ali was a very forward looking artist who was influential in the Philadelphia scene in the late 40's and 50's. Saxophonist Odean Pope, who played with Ibn Ali for many years, claims Ibn Ali was instrumental in forming John Coltrane's melodic concepts while the latter was developing his sound in the late 40's and early 50's in Philadelphia. Sadly, Hasaan Ibn Ali did not get recorded often. Drummer Max Roach, who held Ibn Ali in the highest esteem, brought him into a trio recording with Roach and bassist Art Davis in 1964. Based on the strength of this recording, Ibn Ali was offered a chance to lead his own recording in 1965, a quartet with Odean Pope on tenor sax, Art Davis on bass, and Kalil Madi on drums. Unfortunately, Ibn Ali was jailed for drug offences not long after the recording and Atlantic shelved the release. Ibn Ali suffered a stroke in 1972 and lingered in a convalescent home until his early death at age 49 in 1981, nearly forgotten. The 1965 recording was destroyed in a fire at an Atlantic warehouse in 1978 and considered lost forever. It had seemed that Hasaan Ibn Ali's legacy was only preserved in the memory of elder musicians who knew him, such as Odean Pope and the single 1964 album. Yet he remained influential to some younger musicians such as pianist Matthew Shipp, who grouped Ibn Ali in his personal category of "Black Mystery School Pianists" along with Thelonious Monk, Cecil Taylor, and Randy Weston. The story does not end there, because in 2017 a copy of the master tapes was found in the Warner Tape Library and has now just been released by Omnivore Recordings. "Metaphysics - The Lost Atlantic Album" features the full recording with seven compositions, all Ibn Ali originals. We will hear the full album, unheard for 56 years.