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All Music Guide:
Ahmed Abdul-Malik was one of the first musicians to integrate non-Western musical elements into jazz. In addition to being a hard bop bassist of some distinction, he also played the oud, a double-stringed, unfretted Middle Eastern lute, played with a plectrum. Abdul-Malik recorded on the instrument in the '50s with Johnny Griffin and in 1961 with John Coltrane, contributing to one of the several albums that resulted from the latter's Live at the Village Vanguard sessions.
Abdul-Malik was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. In his twenties and thirties, he worked as a bassist with Art Blakey, Randy Weston, and Thelonious Monk, among others. He played the oud on a tour of South America under the aegis of the U.S. State Department, and performed at one of the first major African jazz festivals in Morocco in 1972. Beginning in 1970, he taught at New York University and later, Brooklyn College. In 1984, he received BMI's Pioneer in Jazz Award in recognition of his work in melding Middle Eastern musics and jazz.
Wikipedia:
Ahmed Abdul-Malik (January 30, 1927 in Brooklyn – October 2, 1993 in Long Branch, New Jersey) was a jazz double bassist and oud player of Sudanese descent. He attended The High School of Music & Art in Harlem.
In the mid-1970s, Malik was a substitute instructor at Junior High School 281, in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York, teaching strings under the supervision of Andrew Liotta, acclaimed composer of seven operas, choral, and numerous chamber works. While seeking a teaching certification, in addition to study under Liotta in orchestration and composition, he also taught Sudanese in the junior high school language department. In the late 1970s he taught individual students private instruction in jazz improvisation at New York University.
He is noted for integrating Middle Eastern and North African music styles in his jazz music. He was the bassist for Art Blakey, Randy Weston, and Thelonious Monk among others. As an oud player he did a tour of South America for the United States Department of State and performed at an African jazz festival in Morocco.
