Jamaaladeen Tacuma

Jamaaladeen has always stretched the mold of what and how a bassist is supposed to play. He has re-defined his instrument's artistic potential. In the 1970's, his creatively free approach to the bass caught the eye of saxophonist Ornette Coleman. Tacuma became a member of Coleman's Prime Time. He toured with and performed on some of Coleman's historic recordings : "Dancing In Your Head", "Body Meta", and "Of Human Feelings". Tacuma continued to press the musical envelope with his debut album in 1983 entitled "Showstopper" and latest historical recordings “FOR THE LOVE OF ORNETTE” features Ornette Coleman and Bon Vivant with Free Form Funky Freqs is a trio with Vernon Reid and G.Calvin Weston He has worked with diverse artists: Jeff Beck, Carlos Santana, Marc Ribot, Derek Bailey, Pharoah Sanders, Grover Washington Jr., Peter Murphy, The Roots among others. He has worked with orchestras led by Anthony Davis at Carnegie Hall. And in the past few years he is recognized for his artistic excellence worldwide with the "PARALLEL CULTURE" AWARD 2009, Marcus Garvey Foundation 50th Anniversary Award 2011 and The Pew Fellowship in the Arts 2011, The MacDowell and Headlands Center for the Arts residency fellowships. Jamaaladeen continues to tour worldwide, performing at the best jazz festivals and clubs in Europe and Asia.