Faruq Z. Bey

One of the visionaries of Detroit's modern jazz scene, saxophonist, flutist, composer, and poet Faruq Z. Bey has faithfully carried on in the post-John Coltrane era as a unique and original performer, enduring cultural, sociological, and physical difficulties that would have stifled a individual of less strength and fortitude. Bey was born Jesse Davis in Detroit, MI, on February 4, 1942, and his parents were vocalists in church and gospel choirs, his father a city bus driver, his mom a stay-at-home housewife. His cousins Charles Rowland and Sherrell Rowland were also musicians. The eldest of five children, Bey grew up in the Conant Gardens district and was educated in the public school systems, attending Holy Ghost and Atkinson secondary schools, and Pershing and Wilbur Wright high schools. He studied existentialism at Wayne County Community College and was a disciple of the Moorish Science Temple. He was originally trained on the upright string bass, and one of his music instructors in school was pianist James Tatum. A neighborhood influence was legendary rhythm & blues singer Eddie Floyd when he was with the Falcons. He heard the John Coltrane/Pharoah Sanders ensemble at the Drome Lounge in 1966, a year before Coltrane passed away, and it profoundly changed his life. So did the infamous race riots in the summer of 1967. Bey was a serviceman in the Air Force, and upon release, changed his name to Malik, then Faruq Zinji Bey. In the late '60s and early '70s Bey emerged as a member of the developing progressive jazz scene, and participated in concerts sponsored by the Detroit Artists Workshop and the Creative Arts Collective. As a member of the Bey Brothers with Sadiq Muhammad and Jalil Bey (all of whom adopted the surname), they played regularly at the Concept East...