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Raphe Malik dies


Kreilly

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I believe he was diagnosed with cancer some years back, but haven't heard anything about that since about six years ago. Obviously he was playing almost up till the end.

RIP to one of the under-sung greats!

From Byron Coley's liners to The Short Form (Eremite, '96/7): "Malik's notes skim up and across the bleeding surface of your subconscious like sharp flat weels of wrought iron."

Very well put... time to put the wheels on and start spinning...

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yes, sad :(

time to play the Cecil Taylor Unit albums again, I guess...

Or Jimmy Lyon's Wee Sneezawee and the box set.

Or his own albums: 21ST CENTURY TEXTS (FMP), SIRENS, SWEET & SLOW (OUTSOUNDS), STORYLINE (BOXHOLDER), SYMPATHY with MCPHEE & ROBINSON (BOXHOLDER) or COMPANIONS (EREMITE).

Edited by P.L.M
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Sympathy - a 2004 release on Boxholder with Joe McPhee (on soprano and pocket trumpet) and Donald Robinson (on drums) is beautiful solemn carefully-constructed deep music; made me really re-appreciate Malik.

Edited by Д.Д.
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And if you want to listen to RAPHE MALIK with CECIL TAYLOR try ONE TOO MANY SALTY SWIFT AND NOT GOODBYE on HATOLOGY.

I heard that band in a small club and the overpowering sound of the band will last a lifetime. His sound was larger in person than I'd suspected from the records.

He always seemed to be comfortable in his skin. Not many can say that.

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I am very sorry to hear this news. Raphe created some wonderful music and was woefully underrecorded. he will be missed.

I don't know if anyone else remembers this, but Raphe registered as a member here and posted once, in December 2004:

"As I read the posted opinions about my contributions to the world of music, I thought of John Coltrane's response to a Downbeat article in the early 60's. He said basically that critics did not know that reviews affected the ablity of an artist to sustain himself or support a famiily.

Aside from the fact that there are some obvious mistakes in chronology of my work (Marc Edwards played with Cecil before Ronald Shannon Jackson), I would like to point out that Jimmy Lyons was asked by Black Saint to use Enrico for his second date and he would have preferred me for whatever that is worth.

As far as being called a blowhard, .... . I like the fact that your forum exists, and hope that as time goes on music will be a greater force for humankind. A lot of great musicians have died ignoble deaths for lack of an ability to support themselves in society. I woke up today and am trying to live a positive life. That is as good as it gets."

The original post can be found here.

Rest in Peace.

Edited by John B
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  • 14 years later...
  • 3 years later...
On 6/27/2020 at 1:30 PM, JSngry said:

During his high school years he was Northeast Regional tennis champion for New England, and studied Mandarin Chinese through a State Department intensive language course, pursuits which he maintained throughout his life...

In 1992, he married Marguerite Serkin, and moved to Southern Vermont. He constructed their family home while teaching music at Bennington College, performing and recording in a wide spectrum of musical genres.

**

Marguerite SERKIN one of four daughters of RUDOLF SERKIN and IRENE BUSCH (daughter of the great violinist & conductor, Adolph Busch); Peter Serkin her brother... Not a huge fan of Rudolf on record though his dedication to his teacher, MAX REGER, is admirable and... the Mazel / Malik connection to the Serkin family is interesting and seemingly unnoted?

Don't know his interest in classical but it'd be wild to learn he worked out on, say, Hindemith...

 

 

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