Heliacal Rising of Sothis

Background

Adam Zanolini's Heliacal Rising of Sothis is a project dedicated to the work and teaching of Kelan Phil Cohran. Cohran was one of the co-founders of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) as well as the founder of the Affro Arts Theatre.  His seminal group the Artistic Heritage Ensemble generated numerous recordings and launched many careers. Cohran was a prolific composer, bandleader, and father of all the members of Hypnotic Brass Ensemble. Phil's exploration of culture, history, astronomy, music, herbalism, mathematics, and language were highly influential among the community of musicians that rose during the Black Arts Movement and subsequent artistic schools in Chicago.  However, Cohran's importance as a musician, organizer, teacher, and scholar has been under-appreciated. The ensemble performs works Zanolini composed whilst studying with Bro. Phil, or with inspiration from his teaching with the goal of spreading this knowledge.

The ensemble, formed in 2022, is comprised of Zanolini, Fred Jackson, Jr. (sax) (two current AACM members) along with Sharon Udoh  (piano) and Naydja Bruton (drums) (two participants in Elastic Arts’ Dark Matter Residency program for emerging artists of color.) The ensemble has performed at Elastic Arts, Transition East, the Promontory, Old Town School of Folk Music, Rebuild Foundation's Kenwood Gardens, and Oakland Museum and Garden as part of the Hyde Park Jazz Festival’s Artist Corps program.  In 2024, the group toured South Africa, performing in the Journey to Jazz festival in Prince Albert, at Chimurenga in Cape Town, and at the South African State Theatre in Pretoria. In 2025 the group toured Switzerland capped by appearances at the Jazzwerkstatt Festival in Bern.