compiled by Michael Fitzgerald
June 15, 1999-August 17, 2005
Thanks to contributors:
David Badagnani, Luca Conti, Basirah Dean, Bill Gallagher, Joe Germuska, Eric Goldberg, Daoud A. Haroon, John Hasselback, Brandon Himmel, Leon Kerkstra, Mike Khoury, Marla Kleman, Andrew P. Lewis, Henry Loess, Rene McLean, Susan Rahim, Michael Royal, George Scala, Alan Sukoenig, Dennis Whitling, Jack Woker, François Ziegler, Mike Zimbouski
| Muslim Name | Birth Name | Instrument |
|---|---|---|
| Emmanuel Abdul-Rahim | Juan Amalbert | per |
| Ahmed Abdullah | Leroy Bland | tpt |
| Nassar Abeday | Jon Mabry | b |
| Idris Ackamoor | Bruce Baker | as |
| Dawoud Abdus Sabur Adeyola | David Lewis | b |
| Kamau Adilifu | Charles Sullivan | tpt |
| Pheeroan AkLaff | Paul Maddox | d |
| Kaeef Ali | Bob Crowley, Jr. | |
| Kasa Mu-Bara Allah | ?? | p |
| Akbar Ali | ?? | vln |
| Amin Ali | ?? | eb |
| Hasaan Ibn Ali | William Henry Langford, Jr. | p |
| Luqman Ali | Edward Skinner | d |
| Muhammad Ali | Raymond Patterson | d |
| Rashied Ali | Robert Patterson | d |
| Kamal Abdul Alim | ?? | tpt |
| Saeed Amir | ?? | p |
| Abdul Baari | Wendell Harrison | ts |
| Rashid Bakr | ?? | d |
| (Imamu) Amiri Baraka | LeRoi Jones | poet |
| Nasir Barakaat | Fred Lacey | g |
| Jamil Bashir | Jaki Byard | p |
| Zahir Batin | Michael Sheppard | per |
| Hassan El Benna | Horace Stamps | p |
| Abdullah Ibn Buhaina | Art Blakey | d |
| Aliyah Rabia Dawud | Dakota Staton | voc |
| (Alhajj) Talib Ahmed Dawud | Alfonso Barrymore | tpt |
| Mustapha Daleel | Oliver Mesheux | tpt |
| Khadijah Davis | Rosemary Davis | voc |
| Basirah Dean | Bonnie Carol Brown | p |
| Kalaparusha Ahra Difda | Maurice McIntyre | ts |
| Hamid Drake | Hank Drake | d |
| Ayon Falu | ?? | d |
| Shamek Farrah | ?? | as |
| Muneer Abdul Fataah | Bernard Fennell | cll |
| Hotep Idris Galeta | Cecil Bernard | p |
| Shafi Hadi | Curtis Porter | as |
| Nasir Hafiz | Abe Woodley | vbs |
| Hasin Hakim | Alfonso King | tb |
| Sadik Hakim | Argonne Thornton | p |
| Umar Hakim | ?? | d |
| Abdul Hamid | McKinley Dorham | tpt |
| Luqman Hamza | Larry Cummings | voc, p |
| Daoud A. Haroun | John Mancebo Lewis | tb |
| Abdul-Khaliq Hassan | Ray Mills | eb |
| Ali Hassan | ?? | tb |
| Bahir Hassan | ?? | d |
| Zain El Hussaini | ?? | ?? |
| Abdullah Ibrahim | Adolph "Dollar" Brand | p |
| Ibrahim Ibn Ismail | Walter Bishop, Jr. | p |
| Ahmad Jamal | Fritz Jones | p |
| Khan Jamal | Warren Cheeseboro | vib |
| Hakim Jami | Finroy Hayes | b |
| Hassan Jenkins | ?? | eb |
| Musa Kaleem | Orlando Wright | ts |
| Arleem Kareem | Pinky Williams | ts |
| Shafeek Kareen | Skippy Williams | ts |
| Muhammad Al Amien Abdul Kariem | Rene McLean | ww |
| Omar Ahmed Abdul Kariem | Jackie McLean | as |
| Musheed Karween | Rudy Powell | as |
| Abdullah Khalid | ?? | tpt |
| Talib Qadir Kibwe | ?? | as |
| Yusef Lateef | William Evans | ts |
| Hanifan Mageed | Charles Greenlee | tb |
| Khalil Madi | Charles Mascudi | d |
| Nur Mahmud | Bill "Baggy" Grant | d |
| Hernitan Maseed | Charles Greenlee | tb |
| Masujaa | Hugh Riley | g |
| Tarek Ta'us Abdul Matin | ?? | b |
| Khalid Moss | ?? | p |
| Idris Muhammad | Leo Morris | d |
| Qaadir Almubeen Muhammad | Ben Dixon | d |
| Abu Muslim | Peyton Crossley | d |
| Gonga Mussa | Orlando Wright | ts |
| Damu Mustafa Abdul Musawwir | James Blood Ulmer | g |
| Jamil Nasser | George Joyner | b |
| Abdul Nur | Ron (Rahn) Burton | p |
| Nadi Qamar | Spaulding Givens | p, per |
| Basheer Qusim | George General "Gigi" Gryce | as |
| Emmanuel K. Rahim | Juan Amalbert | per |
| Hakim Rahim | ?? | as |
| Mustafa Abdul Rahim | Donald Strickland | bcl, ts |
| Al Rahman | Doug Carn | key |
| Kahlil Rahman | ?? | vib |
| Mustafa Abdul Rahman | Donald Strickland | bcl, ts |
| Ron Rahsaan | ?? | d |
| El Hajj Abdullah Rasheed | Lynn Hope | ts |
| Haleen Rasheed | Howard Bowe | tb |
| Sulayman Rasheed | Howard Bowe | tb |
| Khaliq Abdul Al Rouf | Edgar Drew | p |
| Jalal Rushdan | Sonny Phillips | p, org |
| Abdu Saboor | ?? | per |
| Rasul Sadik | ?? | tpt |
| Mohammed Sadiq | ?? | |
| Abdul Salaam | William "Chiefie" Scott | tpt |
| Liaquat Ali Salaam | Kenny Clarke | d |
| Mashujaa Aliye Salamu | Hugh Riley | g |
| Ahmad Khatab Salim | Albert Atkinson | arr |
| Rashied Salim | William Brister | vib, per |
| Yusef Salim | ?? | p |
| Sulaimon Saud | McCoy Tyner | p |
| Majid Shabazz | Benjamin McGriff | d |
| Sadiq Shabazz | Steve Berrios | d |
| Tarik Shah | ?? | b |
| Jaribu Shahid | Glenn Henderson | b |
| Sadiq Abdu Shahid | ?? | d |
| Hassan Shakur | J.J. Wiggins | b |
| Sahib Shihab | Edmund Gregory | bar |
| Rashied Sinan | ?? | d |
| Idrees Sulieman | Leonard Graham | tpt |
| Jamil Sulieman | George Joyner | b |
| Luquman Abdul Syeed | Steve Davis | b |
| Jamaaladeen Tacuma | Rudy McDaniel | eb |
| Abu Talib | Freddy Robinson | g |
| Abdul Khabir Wadud | Ronald DeVaughn | cll |
| Nasheet Waits | - | d |
| Abdu Wali | ?? | g |
| Khalid Yasin | Larry Young | org |
| Kahil'El Zabar | Clifton Blackburn | d, per |
| Kiane Zawadi | Bernard McKinney | eup |
Notes
The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz (1996) corrigenda p. xxxii says: “Abdul-Malik, Ahmed [Tim, Jonathan; not Gill, Sam]” However, Ed Berger, who knew Ahmed Abdul-Malik says, “He was neither Sam Gill nor Jonathan Tim; he was Ahmed Abdul-Malik! Grove was wrong – twice. His father was Sudanese.” In this regard, he really doesn’t belong on this list at all. And now, there is more dispute! According to research by Robin D.G. Kelley, Abdul-Malik’s father may have been not Sudanese, but West Indian! Watch this space.
The bassist “Knobby Totah” is more correctly named Nabil Totah, born in Ramallah, Palestine (Transjordan), April 5, 1930.
Contrary to Burns, bassist Ali Mohammed-Jackson is NOT bassist Alvin Jackson (brother of Milt Jackson). This information courtesy of Dan Morgenstern.
Jaribu Shahid says that it was an error on Sun Ra’s part for him to be listed as Ben rather than Glenn Henderson.
While some musicians have Muslim-derived names – Aminata Moseka (Abbey Lincoln), or Rahsaan Roland Kirk – Dawoud Adeyola believes that they were/are not practicing Muslims. Adeyola also points out that some younger musicians may have been born with Muslim names.
Sources
- Abdul-Rahim, Emmanuel, personal correspondence, August 1999.
- Berger, Ed, personal correspondence, June 1999.
- Burns, Jim, “Turning East,” Jazz Journal, March 1969, pp.2-4.
- Cuscuna, Michael & Michel Ruppli, The Blue Note Label, New York, Greenwood Press, 1988.
- Dawud, Idris, personal correspondence, January 2001.
- Dean, Basirah, personal correspondence, July 1999, March 2003.
- Gerard, Charles D., “Spirit, Soul and New Religions,” Brooklyn, 1995.
- Gitler, Ira, notes to Charles Mingus: The Complete Debut Recordings, Fantasy 4402-2, 1990, p. 23.
- Haroon, Daoud A., personal correspondence, July 2005.
- Harrison, Bob, letter, Jazz Journal, May 1969, pp. 40-41.
- Hughes, Phil, letter, Jazz Journal, June 1969, pp. 22-23.
- Kernfeld, Barry, New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, New York, St. Martin’s Press, 1996.
- McLean, Rene, personal correspondence, October 2003.
- Morgenstern, Dan, personal conversation, July 1997.
- Owens, Frank, “Rudy Powell,” Jazz Journal, June 1970, p. 22.
- Royal, Michael, personal correspondence, August 2003
- Salemann, Dieter, letter, Jazz Journal, May 1969, p. 39.
- Salemann, Dieter, letter, Jazz Journal, September 1969, p. 39.
- Shahid, Jaribu, personal correspondence, July 1999.
- Wilmer, Valerie, As Serious As Your Life, Da Capo,
I also intend to check further into the following materials:
“Mohammaden Religion Appeals to Many Progressive Jazz Men,” Ebony, 1953.
Cook, Ann, “Moslem Gentlemen,” Jazz-Disco, April 1960.