THE PYRAMIDS was founded FIFTY YEARS AGO in 1972! Saxophonist Ackamoor had originally left his hometown of Chicago to study music at Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio, where his teachers numbered legendary pianist Cecil Taylor. Via the Antioch Abroad Program, Ackamoor landed a year’s study overseas in 1972, which allowed him, and two Antioch students, Margaux Simmons and Kimathi Asante, to travel to Europe and Africa where they co — founded THE PYRAMIDS. The trip took in a musical spiritual journey up into Northern Ghana, the land of the Fra Fra of Bolgatanga and the Islam-influenced Dagomba in Tamale, where Ackamoor taped some field recordings. “We played with the King’s musicians in Tamale. I also undertook a healing ceremony in the bush of Bolgatanga with a Fra Fra traditional healer (a Juju Man).” Back in Yellow Springs, THE PYRAMIDS brought together all of the knowledge from their journey and released 2 independently produced albums including “LALIBELA” (1973), and “KING OF KINGS” (1974). After graduating, Idris and the band headed to Oakland, California and quickly met other musicians in the thriving San Francisco Bay Area music scene where they recorded their third album, “BIRTH/SPEED/MERGING” in 1976. THE NEW YORK TIMES is among the outlets hailing the recent release of “THE PYRAMIDS – AOMAWA: THE 1970s RECORDINGS” — collecting the Pyramids’ neglected Afrofuturism efforts from the 1970s. “Deliriously unconventional selections like „Birth Speed Merging, Pt. 2“ remain thrilling more than 45 years after they were recorded.”
THE PYRAMIDS played their last concert at the 1977 UC Berkeley Jazz Festival sharing the stage with vocalist Al Jarreau, and jazz legends Woody Shaw and Dexter Gordon. Out of the blue, The Pyramids announced their return in 2007. “Around 2006 there was an increased interest in the 1970s music the band recorded with many requests from record labels to re-issue the early albums,” Ackamoor explains. “The Pyramids’ three LPs were showing up on eBay for high prices. A European booking agency began organizing concert dates for the band and The Pyramids were fully back in business. The momentum has continued for the group with Ackamoor landing a Lifetime Achievement Award from Gilles Peterson at his Worldwide Awards in London.
