BOOK TURNS INTO BAND

Fifteen years ago, Coleman Barks began rendering the words of 13th Century Sufi poet Jelaluddin Rumi into graceful English, initiating a new and profound "transmission" of a Great Soul into western culture. Visionary artist Michael Green extended this work into the visual realm with THE ILLUMINATED RUMI, an expansive rendering of the art of illumination.

For hundreds of years in the Middle East, musicians have sung Rumi's poetry. Last year, asked to do a concert reading from THE ILLUMINATED RUMI, Green thought to prepare some background music accompaniment. But practice with some musician-friends brought an unexpected discovery. The familiar longing of our own native Appalachian folk and primitive blues traditions merged seamlessly with Rumi's mystical yearning. Two currents of soul-longing come together without a ripple. An essential Rumi, free of exotic cultural baggage. Thirteenth century Persian poems as songs you might hear in a West Texas truck stop.

The concert received standing ovations, and invitations to perform around the country. WXPN, the local alternative rock station talked about the music the next day. A new vehicle carrying Rumi to a new audience. A gift. THE ILLUMINATION BAND.

The Illumination Band: Pouring Eternal Wine Into A New Bottle
By Farida Parker

Hailed as a 'new musical genre,' The Illumination Band sets rich Appalachian and country-rock harmonies to the sublime lyrics of Rumi's mystical verse in a unique blend of poetry and song. The band has played to enthusiastic ovations from coast to coast. One woman, who heard them at the University of Pennsylvania for the first time last year, was nearly speechless. After a few moments of silent wonder, she finally said, "They take my breath away! How can such down-home music be so transcendent?"

Consider the Source. Jelaluddin Rumi, the 13th Century Persian Sufi who wrote volumes of ecstatic poetry, is now said to be the most widely read poet in America. His profound yet playful verse - revived and refreshed in Coleman Barks' and Michael Green's stunning top ten best-seller, The Illuminated Rumi - reveals the Divine Luminosity in everyday encounters. With a few phrases, Rumi can shuttle us from the dusty stalls of a Turkish marketplace to circling galaxies and back again. The 'soaring soundscape' of acoustic and electric propulsion from the Illumination Band transports the listener effortlessly from the mundane to the marvelous.

When asked about the origin of the music, Green explained: "Robert Bly had asked Coleman to 'liberate Rumi 's poems from their scholarly prisons.' " The resulting five-star book is a magnificent collage of visual and poetic delight which he describes as "pouring Rumi's eternal wine into a new bottle." Two years ago, this creative effort took flight from the printed page and into the hands, hearts and voices of  The Illumination Band, whose members are dedicated followers of the Sufi path of love and wisdom."

According to Green, singing verses of Rumi is a centuries' old tradition in the Middle East. "Half a dozen musicians will get together in somebody's living room and sing Rumi's poetry all night long. It's the form in which it is most deeply appreciated…so we were returning it to music in our own cultural context."

He further explained that Appalachian music can be traced back through its Celtic roots to Middle Eastern sounds and thus more easily lends itself to the band's musical interpretations. When they play live, he added enthusiastically, "Everything goes up a chakra! This stirringly beautiful music might just as easily be heard at a West Texas truck-stop as a new-age festival!" The music of The Illumination Band easily crosses the divides of multiple musical styles and delivers a message that is at once timely and timeless.

The band includes masterful musician-vocalists: David Mowry and Kabir Green on acoustic and slide guitars and vocals, with Jeff Sheard on drums, percussion and vocals. Muhammad Sultan (AKA Rick Glover, the mysterious phantom who escaped all the photos) plays bass guitar. Lyrics and narrative are by Michael Green. The group's artistic and informative website, theilluminationband.com, offers their first CD which was produced by Jamey Reilly at VirtuaLux Digital Studio. The band members are long-time students of late Sufi master, His Holiness, Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, a 20th century mystic who resided in Philadelphia's Overbrook section.
                                                                               concert photos thanks to Annie Hosfeld Photography