DON PULLEN : Mingus Grad Stretches Out

“I think I’ve always had an affinity for African and Brazilian music, so this album gave me an opportunity to really stretch out in it,” says pianist-composer Don Pullen of his new Blue Note release, “Kele Mou Bana.”

But the acclaimed artist did more than just musically explore those cultures. On the recording, Pullen assembled a band of musicians from Panama, South Africa, Brazil and Senegal, each of whom contributed compositions to the album.

“With each member contributing to the book, we get a kind of authentic background rather than me attempting to write something that is purely African or purely Brazilian,” Pullen explains.

The album represents an extension of Pullen’s muscular blend of swirling clusters and rollicking rhythm patterns. This imprint was due at least in part to his growing up in Virginia and attending college in North Carolina.

“One thing about being in the South was we heard very little jazz,” Pullen, 50, recalls. “What was available was heavy blues and rhythm and blues, plus I grew up in the church. My background is a combination of those influences.”

After moving to New York and making a mark on the mid-’60s free music scene, Pullen joined the legendary bassist Charles Mingus’ group in 1973. With fellow Mingus alumnus George Adams and drummer Dannie Richmond, he formed the Adams/Pullen Quartet in 1979.

Pullen began establishing his individual identity with two highly regarded trio albums, “New Beginnings” and “Random Thoughts,” on Blue Note. He plans to continue working with his trio as well as the African-Latin American unit featured on “Kele Mou Bana.”

“I think I’ve matured and developed a style where people can identify me,” he says. “That’s not really an end in itself. There are many more possibilities and different ways to go--the idea is to keep open to whatever happens and to continue to grow.”