Fronted by founding members; Percussionist/Composer Lloyd Haber and Multi Wind Player Omar Kabir who founded the group in 1991. The Groups diverse ethnic and compositional structure is a breath of fresh air needed to represent today’s music scene. “Our purpose is to explore and create in depth, the limitless dimensions of the art form.”
The release of the Freedom Art Quartet’s “Spirits Awake” brought the group critical acclaim; Jeff Stockton of All About Jazz said, “Spirits Awake captures the listener’s interest, holds that interest with creativity and intensity, then rewards it with excitement generated by musical variety and masterly expressiveness.”
Greg Buium from down beat pronounced; “This debut disc from New York’s Freedom Art Quartet swings from Monkish games to Ornette Coleman and Horace Silver with admirable proficiency.” John simmons from the New York times wrote; “If I didn’t know better, I’d think that this was some long lost session from the great Blue Note catalogue of the sixties. A solid jazz date from another of NY’s best kept secrets.”
The F.A.Q. have performed in various clubs, art galleries, and colleges at home and abroad. Festivals include: The Heineken Jazz Festival, The Fire Wall festival, the UVA Jazz Festival & most recently the 2022 Hamptons Jazz Festival. Clubs include; Smalls, Knitting Factory, Jazz Standard among others. Throughout the years, many innovative artists have played within the core group; Ornette Coleman, Fred Hopkins, Ravi Coltrane, J.D. Parren, Abraham Burton, Jaribu Shahid, Brad Jones, Andy McCloud, Roy Campbell, Alex Harding, Jay Collins, and Patience Higgins, among others.
Personnel:
Lloyd Haber- Multiple Percussion: A student of the late great Ed Blackwell. Currently the music director at Francis Lewis High School in Queens, N.Y. Lloyd Has performed/recorded with; Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry, Bob Stewart, Craig Harris, Louis Hayes, Kalaparusha McIntyre, Charli Persip, Warren Smith, Donald Smith, and Ron Burton among others. Performances at Symphony Space and Aaron Davis Hall. Percussion ensemble clinics at Sam Ash Music and the Long Island Drum Center. Off-Bdwy musical, Songs for the New World. Percussion on the Oscar nominated film, Judas and the Black Messiah.
Omar Kabir – Trumpet, Low Brass, Conch, and Didgeridoo: Alumnus of NC School of the Arts, and Manha Jan School of Music. Won first place at Show Time at the Apollo. Recorded and/or Performing with David Murray Octet & Big Band, Herbie Mann, Cecil Taylor Big Band, the Jimmy Heath Big Band, Charlie Haden’s Liberation Orchestra, Hugh Ragin, William Cepeda, and Stanley Jorden. Omar was an original cast member of Fame: the musical and Music Director with Cirque du Soleil.
Alfredo Colon- Woodwinds: A New York City native born to immigrant parents from the Dominican Republic, Alfredo grew up in Washington Heights where he studied under Lee Konitz while receiving a BFA in Jazz performance at City College of New York. The saxophonist has performed alongside notable musicians such as Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Nels Cline, Chad Edward Taylor, Gene Lake, Dr. Lonnie Smith, and American Idol Finalist Qaasim Middleton. Colon was awarded the Jazz Coalition Commission Fund Grant in early 2020. Hi piece ‘A Witch Gets Married’ premiered online in October 2020.
Adam Lane- Bass: Lane studied composition at Wesleyan University with Anthony Braxton, and at California Institute of the Arts with Wadada Leo Smith. In 1996 he received a Paternings Scholarship for study at the Darmstadt School for New Music where he studied double bass with Steffano Scodanibbio, and attended master classes in composition with Karlheinz Stockhausen. As a player, Adam has contributed to important recordings by artist such as John Tchicai and Tom Waits.
