starsontap's Podcast

Haji Ahkba is noted to have a past that interviews can never fully penetrate, here's an example. He plays Trumpet, Flugelhorn and keyboards.
He has studied with some of the true Jazz greats such as Roland Kirk, Blue Mitchell (check your Blue Notes) and Barry Harris. He formed early R & B Bands around Milwaukee and got every decent support act going in his early years, working on the same bill as Miles Davis, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder. Just name your own heroes he has likely played with them. In 1972 he went to Los Angeles to work with his cousin BB Dickerson, and the group BB was in: War.
He formed the horn section for Bobby Womack's 'Safety Zone' album from 1976, and in 1980 he got into Ghanaian music and joined Hedzoleh Sounds. In 1981 he toured Europe with Sun Ra and took to teaching the seventh scale system for bebop. In 1982 he joined James Brown and stayed with them until, several years ago. Since then he's worked for Tony Cook on the Party People, GAs Projects, and then landed in Britain to embark upon a solo deal. The English would say,"He's got two bands let him tell you in his own words, with his music."
"I'm showcassing with a dance band, and playing jazz with different artists" he'd often say . He was teaching over at Pyramid Arts and trying to get a record deal.The band he worked included guitarist Alan Weeks, an English great well known for playing all kinds of sessions, including a ceftain amount of reggae here and there with the great Joe White. His accompaniments are capable of playing jazz as well as funk; check our gig guide. As an arranger, writer of charts, and funk tutor, there can be none with a heavier background than him in the UK and the USA today. He put together a brass section, Brass Tax, to emphasize this. The inevitable question is what comes next, how, and why?
"I'd just come back from a 61- night tour with Sunny (Sun Ra) and I was tired. For Christmas I went to Philadelphia to spend the week with friend. James Brown was playing there, and some friends asked me if I wanted to go and see him. So I called this guy I knew and got some tickets, we went down there. James had just put this new band together, Maceo had just come back, had been with the band a week. "I walked in the stage door, and they were on stage for the first show. The horns were just saxophone and trombone, no trumpet. So when they came offstage I said: You guys don't have a trumpet player, and James Brown used to have at a least trio. What's goin' on?' There was some kind of story about him getting fired, so I said: 'I know this stuff, I was groomed on it.' "I got to boasting and bragging, so they took me in the dressing room and Sweets tested me. I played the second show! When it came to the charts, I remember where Pee Wee Ellis and Fred Wesley would put the horns; when they saw that the charts went back into the briefcase! In fact, I corrected some of the charts! One of the fellahs jokingly stated " A man who dares to correct JB's music? I told you he was heavy"!