Idris Muhammad

Idris Muhammad
Idris Muhammad playing with Reggie Workman and Pharoah Sanders, c. 1978
Background information
Birth name	Leo Morris
Born	(1939-11-13)November 13, 1939 New Orleans, Louisiana, US
Died	July 29, 2014(2014-07-29) (aged 74) Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US
Genres	Jazz, bebop, hardbop, soul, funk
Occupation(s)	Drummer, composer
Instruments	drums

Idris Muhammad (Arabic: إدريس محمد‎‎; born Leo Morris; November 13, 1939 – July 29, 2014) was an American jazz drummer who recorded extensively with many musicians, including Ahmad Jamal, Lou Donaldson, Pharoah Sanders, and Tete Montoliu.

Muhammad was an endorser of Istanbul Agop Cymbals.

In 2012 Xlibris released the book Inside The Music: The Life of Idris Muhammad, which he wrote with his friend Britt Alexander. He died aged 74 in 2014.

He changed his name in the 1960s upon his conversion to Islam. In 1966, he married Dolores "LaLa" Brooks (former member of the Crystals; she converted to Islam with him and went for a time under the name Sakinah Muhammad). They separated in 1999. Together, they had two sons and two daughters, and he had one daughter from a previous marriage to Gracie Lee Edwards.

Idris Muhammad is probably best known for his album Power of Soul, which included the tune Loran's Dance, which received considerable airplay on jazz radio stations.

With Kamal Abdul-Alim

With Nat Adderley

With Gene Ammons

With George Benson

With Walter Bishop, Jr.

With Rusty Bryant

With George Coleman

With Hank Crawford

With Paul Desmond

With Fats Domino

With Lou Donaldson