Griot Galaxy
Entry updated 10 November 2025. Tagged: Music.
US jazz band formed in Detroit in 1972 by saxophonist, poet and music theorist Faruq Z Bey (1942-2012), whose birth name was Jesse Davis. Inspired by Sun Ra and The Art Ensemble of Chicago, their African-inspired stage make-up and costumes, as well as the cosmic reach of the music, led to their frequently being billed as "The Sci-Fi Band". They were distinguished from other free jazz outfits by their metrically complex compositions and propulsive rhythmic force. Most of their music is instrumental, though the outstanding, sadly neglected live album Opus Krampus (1985) contains a theatrically recited poem about a Spaceship crewed by Black people escaping Earth and traversing the face of Mars. [CWa]
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