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Artist
Hamid Drake & Bindu
12+ albums
free jazzjazzreggaedubbeatbox
about
As the project developed in his mind, he grew interested in pulling together a bi-city band, connecting two scenes in which he has found homes but which are often considered quite discrete. "It was a feeling of bringing together musicians from Chicago and New York and bridging this illusory gap," he said. He began to see it as a horn-and-drum group and eventually enlisted New Yorkers Sabir Mateen and Daniel Carter and Chicagoans Ernest Dawkins and Greg Ward. But he was still missing the female voice he wanted, which he made up for by including Chicago flutist Nicole Mitchell on one track. But the long-distance arrangement had its drawbacks—while the group has been offered gigs before, scheduling has made it impossible up until now. The band will be an ongoing group, but not necessarily with a fixed membership, Drake said. "I want Bindu to be an ever-changing, expanding project," he explained. "It can stay with the four saxophones or I can do something different. The whole concept of Bindu is to be able to adapt." The name Bindu comes from a Sanskrit word meaning "subtle point" and also refers to a sort of energy that was believed to reside in the body. The name follows Drake's long practice of referencing spiritual systems in his band names and vocal compositions. Sama came from the Arabic word for "to hear" and in Sufi tradition also refers to a gathering of dervishes to listen to music and implies "being able to listen in another sort of way," Drake said. "It requires ful
