{
  "id": 4549369,
  "title": "Sultan bin Fahad explores historical links between jazz and Islam in solo exhibition",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/sultan-bin-fahad-explores-historical-links-between-jazz-and-islam-in-4549369",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-31T02:20:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The National Business",
    "slug": "the-national-business",
    "url": "https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/art-design/2026/08/31/saudi-artist-sultan-bin-fahad-links-jazz-islam-blue-note-exhibition/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Sultan bin Fahad's solo exhibition, Blue Note, at Leila Heller Gallery, explores the historical links between jazz and Islam. The centerpiece of the exhibition is the piece titled Supreme, which features a grand piano on the left, facing a five-piece drum kit. Each part of the band is positioned on an eight-pointed star, known as Rub el-Hizb, a common shape in Islamic design. This octagram, made of two overlapping squares, is a visual representation of the concept of a \"quarter of the group\", a recurring theme in music and rhythm.\n\nThe exhibition also highlights the influence of Islamic faith and philosophy on jazz music. One notable example is John Coltrane's album A Love Supreme, which bears the words A Love Supreme on its cover. Islamic faith and philosophy were known to have influenced this record, with its title being chanted at the end of the opening track. Coltrane, who was surrounded by many jazz musicians who had converted to Islam, including his first wife Juanita Naima Grubbs, was reportedly impressed by the civil rights activist Malcolm X during his pilgrimage to Makkah in 1964. This pilgrimage marked Malcolm X's break away from the black separatist ideology of the Nation of Islam, embracing instead the inclusive nature of Sunni Islam.\n\nThe connections between jazz and Islam are multilayered and diverse. Bin Fahad's research led him to the African roots of jazz and its merging with Islam in the US around the mid-20th century. This era, marked by the American Civil Rights Movement, saw the faith as a communal and spiritual force promoting equality against racism and white supremacy. Many jazz musicians, including Yusef Lateef, Art Blakey, and Ahmed Abdul-Malik, converted to Islam during this time. These figures are depicted in oil paintings within the exhibition, their facial features abstracted to give them a larger-than-life quality.\n\nIn one installation, the room is built with records by Dizzy Gillespie, Blakey, and Coltrane, alongside books on jazz and the Civil Rights Movement. A six-page letter from Malcolm X to a friend in prison in 1950 is also featured, marking the first time the activist signed his last name with the letter X, representing his lost ancestral African family name. This letter expresses Malcolm X's fondness for jazz and his spiritual power, stating, \"Music, brother, is ours. It is us and like us it is always here, surrounding us, like the infinite particles that make up life, it cannot be seen, but can only be felt. Like Life!\" Blue Note is currently running at Leila Heller Gallery until September 13.",
  "summary": "Sultan bin Fahad’s Supreme can be perceived as a flattened, two-dimensional stage of a jazz room. The beads-on-canvas piece shows a grand piano on the left, facing a five-piece drum kit. Bass and horn sections are in the foreground. Each part of the band is positioned on an eight-pointed star, a common shape in Islamic design. The octagram – made of two overlapping squares – is known as Rub…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The National UAE",
        "title": "Sultan bin Fahad explores historical links between jazz and Islam in solo exhibition",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/sultan-bin-fahad-explores-historical-links-between-jazz-and-islam-in",
        "published": "2026-08-31T02:20:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}