"Ethan Buck, on alto saxophone, shined while doubling Kabir's solos with his own simultaneous soaring lines, bringing the set to repeated climaxes. But it was Kabir's night, and rightly so. Neither a soul flutist in the vein of Bobbbi Humphrey, an avant-gardist like Eric Dolphy nor a showman like Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Kabir is reaching for something deeper, and she frequently finds it."
"On "Red Shapes and Green Shapes," a song inspired by a loved one of Kabir's who's currently in London and missed the show, her solo started low and introspective, the sound of loneliness, then gradually built to high wails, as if calling across the sea. The set ended with "I Crashed My Car" - a song I liked very much last year - but the trajectory of Rabiah Kabir is far from over. Keep an eye on this one, folks."
Rabiah Kabir led a sextet at the Black Cat in San Francisco that emphasized odd time signatures and dynamic group interplay. Drummer Jaycie Grady and bassist Leela Paymai propelled the rhythm section while Paymai's Persian-jazz compositions from ZHENIIA featured onstage. Kabir played an improvised piano solo and acknowledged parents, educators, and collaborators including Nathan Sariowan (violin) and Wesley Larlarb (guest piano). Ethan Buck doubled Kabir's solos on alto saxophone, creating simultaneous soaring lines and repeated climaxes. Selections ranged from introspective originals like "Red Shapes and Green Shapes" to the closing "I Crashed My Car," and the set incorporated protest themes and a politicized arrangement of "Everybody Wants to Rule the World."
Read at Kqed
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