The Pyramids – King Of Kings LP Orig 1st Press Idris Ackamoor Black Variant Very Rare Archival Sleeve

Idris sold these early pressing out of the back of his car.

Idris Ackamoor founded the band The Pyramids in the early 1970s at Antioch College in Ohio as part of Cecil Taylor's Black Music Ensemble. The band toured Africa in the 1970s, adding musicians and new instruments, before settling in San Francisco in the US.Exploratory self-releases Lalibela (1973), King Of Kings (1974), and Birth / Speed / Merging (1976) had very limited runs, being sold only at concerts out of the trunks of their cars.

Spiritual Afro-jazz-influenced ensemble founded by Idris Ackamoor, Margaux Simmons and Kimathi Asante in Paris in 1972. The members met at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio and were students of Cecil Taylor. The group recorded three independent albums (Lalibela in 1973, King Of Kings in 1974 and Birth / Speed / Merging in 1976), and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area before disbanding in 1977

• Alto Saxophone, Composed By, Talking Drum, Balafon, Percussion [Calypso Box, Ethiopian Drum], Other [One-stringed Goge], Talkbox – Bruce Baker, Idris Ackamoor
• Bass [Hagstrom], Idiophone [Ugandan Harp], Percussion – Kwame Kimathi Asante, Thomas Williams 
• Cello, Guest [Guest Artist] – Chris Chafe
• Congas, Percussion – Bradie Speller, Hekaptah
• Drums, Bongos, Percussion – Donald Robinson 
• Flute, Percussion – Margo Ackamoor
• Piano, Percussion, Guest [Guest Artist] – Jerome Saunders
• Vocals – The Pyramids

Some people in America think of jazz and funk as East Coast/West Coast concepts--record companies, clubs, and musicians tend to be based on one or the other. After all, there couldn’t be much of interest coming out of the Midwest, could there? Wrong--in the early 1970s, the Ohio band the Pyramids were laying down sounds that stand the test of time. They mixed jazz (free, bop, and fusion) with powerful funk grooves and elements of African styles. KING OF KINGS has a slightly higher soul/R&B quotient than their other discs, but make no mistake--their singularly powerful, driving, and inclusive approach to rhythm glows throughout.