Anthropology (composition) Anthropology (composition) "Anthropology" (also known as "Thriving from a Riff" or "Thriving on a Riff") is a bebop-style jazz composition that is credited to Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Parker stated in 1949 that Gillespie had played no part in its writing, and that others had added the trumpeter as co-composer. It is a contrafact, being based on the harmony of "I Got Rhythm". The first recording of the composition, then known as "Thriving from a Riff", was made on November 26, 1945, by an ensemble led by Parker. The other musicians were trumpeter Miles Davis, pianist Argonne Thornton, bassist
Ahmadiyya in the United States Clouds." Although Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane did not become Ahmadi Muslims, they were influenced by the spirit of Islam bought by the Ahmadis. "A Love Supreme", one of Coltrane's greatest pieces of work, considered by some as the greatest Jazz album of all time, was deeply influenced by the work of the Ahmadiyya movement. In the liner notes of the album, Coltrane repeatedly echoes "Basmala", the opening verse of almost every chapter of the Quran: "Now and again through the unerring hand of God, I do perceive his ... Omnipotence ... He is Gracious and Merciful." Between