Sultan, Juma

views updated

Sultan, Juma

Sultan, Juma, fusion-jazz bassist, conga player; b. Monrovia, Calif., April 23, 1942. Sultan studied art at UCLA, working as a painter, sculptor, and jewelry maker. He was involved in folk music as a teenager, playing baritone sax, tuba, guitar, and trumpet. He founded the Aboriginal Music Society, an ensemble devoted originally to hand-made and non-Western instruments. In the early 1960s, Sultan moved to N.Y., where he worked with Jimi Hendrix. With James Dubois, he founded the musicians’ community center, Studio We. Sultan has also been active in organizing the N.Y. Musicians Festivals, and has worked with Sonny Murray.

—Lewis Porter