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‘The spirits of my ancestors empower me’: jazz great Idris Ackamoor on Afrofuturism, activism and André 3000

A musical seeker since childhood, the 73-year-old’s journeys have taken him from lessons with Cecil Taylor to a formative tour of Africa and now work with the Outkast star. He explains why he’s still chasing the next chapter

A mentee of pivotal jazz and blues musicians including Cecil Taylor, Clifford King and Jimmie Lunceford at Antioch College, Ackamoor found his sound during a “trip of a lifetime” touring the continent alongside fellow students Kimathi Asante and flautist Margaux Simmons. When he returned to the US, the Pyramids sold albums including Lalibela and Birth / Speed / Merging out of car boots, having struggled to attract the attention of any labels despite growing word-of-mouth buzz from their live shows around Ohio. Recently, André 3000 and jazz percussionist Carlos Niño drew on Ackamoor’s role in that lineage when they asked him to join the backing band for the Outkast star’s San Francisco show in support of his flute-based album, New Blue Sun.

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