In the first part of our series highlighting the defining works of our festival’s headliners, we kick things off with Chicago jazz luminary Kahil El’Zabar - a visionary percussionist, composer, and cultural architect whose career spans over five decades. A bridge between ancestral traditions and avant-garde innovation, El’Zabar has shaped Great Black Music through hypnotic rhythms, spiritual intensity, and fearless eclecticism. Ahead of his performance at Jazz Middelheim with the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, let’s dive into four essential releases that define his extraordinary journey.

Three Gentlemen from Chikago (1981) - (listen here)

Ethnic Heritage Ensemble: Kahil El’Zabar (percussion), Edward Wilkerson Jr. (sax), Light Henry Huff (sax).

Fresh from studying West African music in Ghana, El’Zabar returned to Chicago and distilled his dual influences—the explosive creativity of The Art Ensemble of Chicago and the trance-inducing pulse of African ritual—into the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble’s debut. Three Gentlemen from Chikago captures this alchemy: tracks like A Serious Pun and Brother Malcolm channel the jagged freedom of Chicago’s avant-garde, while The Seeker and Moving of Seasons drift into meditative, cross-continental mysticism. Raw, exploratory, and deeply soulful, this album maps the DNA of El’Zabar’s lifelong mission: to honour tradition while rewriting its rules.

The Renaissance of the Resistance (1994) - (listen here)

Ritual Trio: Kahil El’Zabar (drums, percussion, vocals), Ari Brown (sax), Malachi Favors (bass)

El’Zabar’s music is a feast of contradictions—free yet groovy, ancient yet futuristic. The Renaissance of the Resistance with his Ritual Trio epitomizes this ethos. Here, bebop precision collides with Coltrane-esque fervour (Trane in Mind), Ornette Coleman-inspired abstraction melts into funk hypnosis (The Renaissance of Resistance), and even a stripped-back soul ballad (Save Your Love for Me) feels at home. The album’s centrepiece, Golden Sea, weaves Asian tonalities into African spiritualism, proving El’Zabar’s genius lies in making the eclectic sound inevitable.

Spirit Groove (2020) - (listen here)

Kahil El’Zabar (percussion, vocals), David Murray (tenor sax), Emma Dayhuff (bass), Justin Dillard (keyboards)

A master collaborator, El’Zabar has shared stages with icons from Dizzy Gillespie to Nina Simone. On Spirit Groove, he joins forces with sax titan David Murray for a dialogue steeped in ancestral reverence and modern groove. Tracks like In My House stretch into 15-minute trance rituals, where Murray’s molten sax lines spiral over El’Zabar’s earthy percussion and soulful chants. It’s a testament to his ability to merge primal rhythms with contemporary lyricism—a “spirit groove” that feels both timeless and urgent.

Be Known Ancient/Future/Music (2019) - (listen here)

Kahil El’Zabar (percussion, vocals), Corey Wilkes (trumpet), Alex Harding (sax), Ian Maksin (cello)

El’Zabar doesn’t just preserve tradition—he reimagines it. Be Known pays homage to mentors like Pharoah Sanders while spotlighting rising stars (trumpeter Corey Wilkes, cellist Ian Maksin). The album swings between fiery post-bop (Oof, recorded live) and meditative soundscapes, with Maksin’s cello adding Baroque-like gravitas. A companion to the 2017 documentary Be Known, this release mirrors El’Zabar’s role as a torchbearer: mentoring youth, bridging genres, and proving that innovation thrives when roots run deep.

Catch the legend live at Jazz Middelheim on Monday June 9.

The visit of the Kahil El’Zabar’s Ethnic Heritage Ensemble is a special occasion. It’s a celebration of 50 years of radical creativity. Expect a transcendent blend of African polyrhythms, avant-garde daring, and soul-stirring spontaneity. Don’t miss the chance to witness a living legend who continues to push jazz into uncharted territories.