|: African Funk Hard Bop

JOURNEY TO THE SOURCE
FEAT: Fuasi Abdul-Khaliq-Rolf Zielke-Maximilian Hughes-Kenny Martin

“Journey to The Source” is a jazz quartet, which has been performing in and around Germany, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Portugal, and France since its founding in 1995.
Together JTTS have created a unique sound, which is identifiable from the first notes they play. Their music comes from the influences of „Blues“, „Hard Bop“, „Far Eastern“, “Oriental”, „African“ and „Funk“ which creates a sound full of spirit, depth, and energy. They have recorded and produced several CDs over the course of their 25 year tenure together which includes „Fuasi & Ensemble“, „Fuasimodo Rings A Bell“, „Fuasi & Ensemble Live at Café Central in Madrid Spain“ and “The Afro-Cubano Latin Jazz Connection”, which were all live recorded concerts. They just released their latest recording production self-named “Journey To The Source”. This will be the 2nd studio production following their last studio production named “The Abakuá”.

Fuasi Abdul-Khaliq – saxophone, clarinet, flute. Fuasi began performing professionally in 1972 with the late great African-American pianist, Horace Tapscott and his institution called, „UGMAA“ (Union of God’s Musicians and Artist Ascension) in Los Angeles, California. This led to a lifetime relationship with Tapscott’s Pan-African People’s Arkestra („PAPA“). During the last 30 years abroad in Germany he as toured throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, the South Pacific as well as South and Central America. He is a leader of his own ensembles which include, „Fuasi and Ensemble“, „The Ebony Big Band“, „Fuasi’s Latin Jazz Connection“, the „Horace Tapscott Tribute Ensemble“, „Fumatikelo“, and „The Jazz Crusaders Tribute Project & Beyond“. He has shared the stage with such greats as Walter Bishop Jr., Jimmy Garrison, Sam Rivers, Benny Golson, Hal Singer, Rudy Stevenson, Ed Blackwell, Arthur Blythe, Joe Bowie, Sugar Blue, Abdu Salim, Omar Sosa, and Winard Harper to name a few.

Rolf Zielke – piano. He comes from Hameln, Germany where he performed and worked with Charlie Mariano, Mike Stern and David Friedman, to name a few. He is also currently a teacher at the “Jazz Institute Berlin”, the „Hanna Eisler School of Music“ and the „University of the Arts (UdK). He is a published author of „Global Groove:“: A Complete Guide to Playing in Odd Meters for All Instruments (Advance Music/Schott). He is also a leader of several ensembles with several CD’s in his discography.

Kenny Martin – drums. He comes from Queens (Springfield Gardens), New York and studied at the Berkley School of Music in Boston and with such greats as Tony Williams, Jack DeJonette, Billy Cobham and Narada Michael Walden . He has been recorded on nearly 150 CDs or albums. Leader of his own band(s) for many years such as Pocket Zone, License To Thrill and Walk The Plank. He has also toured and recorded with Defunkt, Peter Fox, Liquid Hips, No Angels, Jaco Pastorius, Kenny Kirkland, Lester Bowie, Red Holloway, Sheldon Powell, Massimo Farao’, Bob Cunningham, Ed Schuller, Golden Gospel Singers, Jean-Paul Bourelly, HHR Big Band, Jeff Lorber,Eric Marienthal to name only a few.

Maximilian Hughes – E. bass. Max started singing in a choir at age 6 and began playing the clarinet at age 8. At 15, he eventually settled on the electric bass as his main instrument. Max has an Associate’s of Arts in Humanities from the University of Maryland, and he studied classical and modern composition at the University of California, San Diego, UCSD.
He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Music from the Berklee College of Music and has guested on many projects and recordings, including those by Chaka Khan, John-Paul Bourelly, Wolfgang Dauner, Tanmoy Bose, Jocelyn B.Smith, and Ack van Rooyen. Max lives in Berlin, teaches at the Jazz Institute Berlin (JIB), and is the author of the music education book „Find Your Individual Way“, “Creative Solo Bass,” published by AMA Verlag GmbH, Brühl.

Fuasi Abdul-Khaliq – Saxophone, Clarinet, Flute
Rolf Zielke – Piano
Maximilian Hughes – E-Bass
Kenny Martin – Drums