Ahmed Abdul-Malik, who died in 1993, was a highly respected American jazz musician who played double bass with a great many artists through the 1950s and `60s including Art Blakey, John Coltrane, Earl Hines, Herbie Mann, Thelonious Monk, and Odetta. Born Jonathan Tim Jr in 1927 in New York City to parents from the British West Indies, he studied music as a youth and attended The High School of Music & Art in Harlem.
He made recordings with pianist Jutta Hipp and Randy Weston in 1956 and released his first album as leader, 'Jazz Sahara' with tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin, in 1958. He also played the oud and his other albums as leader include 'East Meets West' (1959), 'The Music of Ahmed Abdul-Malik' (1961), 'The Sounds of Africa' (1962), 'The Eastern Moods of Ahmed Abdul-Malik' (1963) and 'Spellbound' (1964) with trumpeter and violinist Ray Nance and saxophonist Seldon Powell.
