Review: Idris Ackamoor and The Pyramids “Afro Futuristic Dreams”

Longtime spiritual jazz combo releases new album to celebrate their 50th (!) year.

The tale of the Pyramids began in the early 70s when a young(er) Idris Ackamoor was a student at Antioch College in Ohio. In 1972, Idris utilized the school’s “Study Abroad” program which enabled him to travel to Africa and stay for almost a year, where he studied the native musics and made some recordings along the way. With all this knowledge, experience and inspiration, he formed the Pyramids, who released a trio of records:  “Lalibela” in 1973, “King of Kings” (1974) and “Birth/Speed/Merging” in 1976. The albums fused African music, classic American jazz and chanting, call and response vocals. Idris explains, “When we came back (to America), we were like the embodiment of Africa. We came back with African instruments, African costumes, we were completely influenced by Africa. So our stage performances were like music, costume, dance, rituals.” In 1977, The Pyramids dissolved but the original, self-released records remained legendary, often fetching hundreds of dollars if you were lucky enough to get your hands on one. The Pyramids reformed briefly in 2011 and released “Otherworldly”. A few years later, Idris struck a deal with Strut Records (UK) who rereleased the 70s albums individually and as a box set (as referenced and shown in my post https://refractingsound.substack.com/p/i-did-a-thingidris-ackamoor-and-the.

The Pyramids Live on KQED, 1975.

“Afro Futuristic Dreams” is Idris Ackamoor and the Pyramids’ fourth album for Strut Records since signing in 2016 and continues to document an upswing and resurgence in the group’s career, now in it’s 50th year. They released “We All Be Africans” in 2016, “An Angel Fell” in 2018, “Shaman” in 2020, and now, after three long years, “Afro Futuristic Dreams” is here. Flanked by his longtime musical collaborators Margeaux Simmons and Bobby Cobb amongst others, Idris and the Pyramids bring us this new 9 track release, which clocks in at almost 70 minutes. When asked about the new record, Idris relayed, “The compositions of Afro Futuristic Dreams pay homage to the present Afrofuturism movement that has embraced the science-fiction writers Octavia Butler and Samuel R. Delany, the musician Sun Ra and my own work with the Pyramids. Afro Futuristic Dreams chronicles the historic times we be a-livin’, the past we be feelin’ and the future the planet is headin’ in. It is a testament to survival, unity and honesty to face our collective destiny… the album goes through a whole gamut but it's all still rooted in Africa.”

The Pyramids now.

So how does it measure up? Well… great. The album continues on in the tradition of the previous three, packed with high quality, expansive, 5+ minute, trance-inducing (that’s a compliment!) spiritual jazz voyages, occasionally punctuated with both sung and spoken vocals. My favorite tracks are stacked in the first half: the spacey, groovy, rhythmic low end stomp of the title track, the flute-driven “First Peoples” and the lilting transcendent devotional “Thank You God”, a 13+ minute opus infused with the spirit of Pharoah Sanders. The second half is highlighted by the swaying, exotica-tinged “Re-Memory” and capped by the playful, kalimba-fueled romp “Nice It Up”.

Taking cues from Pharoah Sanders’ loving spirituality and the hard politicism of Curtis Mayfield and Gil Scott Heron, lyrically the album takes mature, longitudinal snapshots of gratitude, love, appreciation of life, loss, memories, police brutality and more. When asked about his lyrics, Idris relayed, “I feel like as a musician we make beauty and in that beauty, the audience or an individual can be inspired and be socially conscious. It’s my duty to make the world a better place through my music.” All in all, “Afro Futuristic Dreams” is another strong benchmark in the Pyramids’ career and a great, high quality modern spiritual jazz album. Please enjoy this artist while they are still here; not to be missed!

Afro Futuristic Dreams is available on vinyl and CD from Strut Records.