Wadada Leo Smith: Heart's Reflection

Wadada Leo Smith's Organic (trumpet)

Heart's Reflections (Cuneiform Records; 2011)

A real propagator of intense, creative sound sculpture, Wadada Leo Smith has been challenging how we experience music for over four decades and over 30+ albums.


He has become one of the most revered elder statesmen of jazz as well as an educator and theorist. He developed a compositional style he called Ankrasmation. It is a theory in which sound relies more on graphic notation than musical notes. This is something that may lend itself more to free jazz than contemporary jazz. And while it may sounds like it's free/avant garde it actually has a lot of melody and direction which may shock even the most novice jazz fan.

Smith's style, especially in recent years has been compared to fusion era (e.g. Big Fun) Miles Davis but where Miles was still molding funk and jazz, Smith has taken those ideas one step further. As we discussed in our piece on Smith/Kaiser's Yo Miles series, the music is funky, anarchistic and forward-looking. Wadada Leo Smith's newest album with one of his three main groups Organic, is entitled Heart's Reflection. It's a blues/funk influenced work that spans two discs but also is probably one of the best and exciting records from Smith in years.

Upon first listen to the lengthy but vibrant opening track "Don Cherry's Electric Sonic Garden", Smith details a groove that is both funky, exploratory and filled with improvised moments. His group Organic uses of electronics, guitars and piano give the album an out of this world vibe (in vein of Sun Ra). But Smith keeps the groove in flow and you may not even notice you've been bobbing your head for twenty minutes. "The Black Hole" hearkens back to Organic's previous set called Spiritual Dimensions which has much more of an experimental, free flowing feel to it. There are guitars, drums, piano and percussion all in point/counterpoint but still somehow remaining in rhythm. Smith's playing is superb throughout. He really allows the ensemble to move freely and without warning. "The Black Hole" is enveloping and expansive. It's driving force is more the rest of ensemble than Smith himself and that is always the sign of a great leader.

"The Majestic Way" and "Certainty" both have moments where not only Smith but his bandmates (in particular, Angelica Sanchez (electric piano), Josh Gerowitz (guitar) and Pheeroan AkLaff (drums)) really move into interstellar regions with their performances. It's funky in a Big Fun, Bitches Brew kind of way but still wholly original. Sanchez's performance on "Certainty" is deep and swirling with Hancock-esque quality. Great stuff.

Heart's Reflection is one of those secret weapons in an artist's arsenal that very few people may hear about. In the vast catalogue of Wadada Leo Smith, Heart's Reflection is an album that deserves your undivided attention.

Bruce Barth: Live At Smalls

Bruce Barth (piano)

Live At Smalls (Smalls Jazz Records)

Rudy Royston (drums)

Vincente Archer (bass)

Bruce Barth has been one of my favourite musicians over the last the couple of years. Unlike a few of my other favourite pianists, Barth's style is more relaxed and inviting. In more of a Thelonious Monk or McCoy Tyner mode, this album tends to be highly enjoyable and a good opening for even the newest fan of jazz.

For many of my friends, if Bruce Barth is in town I usually try to drag them to a show. In my opinion, I believe its probably the best and first way to absorb Bruce's music. So when Bruce Barth released Live At Smalls, I was ecstatic.

While he has already released two live recordings (Hope Springs Eternal and Live At The Vanguard as well as Live At The Cafe Del Teatre DVD), Live At Smalls demonstrates Barth's continual growth as a composer, performer and leader. The only unfortunate part to this piece is, I didn't go to this show. Why? Because like an idiot, I didn't check the jazz listings until the following week and then noticed the show had already happened.

The evening opens with the jumpin'  "Oh Yes, I Will", a piece that shows off the fun but efficient character of the trio. Barth's playing is crisp and very upbeat. Both bandmates, Archer and Royston, come together with nice punch. This trio session is much different than the previous live sessions (except Cafe Del Teatre) in that with a parred down group, the pieces become more crystallized and the listener can hone in on specific instruments, notes and mannerisms. On "Sunday", Barth shows signs of his Monk influence with a sharp playful harmonic tapping on the keys and some rolling rhythms.  "Yama" is a somber ballad with the trio sounding lush in unison. Royston's brushes sound exquisite moving in and out of the background. Archer's basslines are also subtle but never secondary to Barth's piano. 

"Looking Up" is soft but delivers a down home Southern vibe that is clever, and joyful. Royston counters Barth's piano with some fierce improvising and later is altered by Archer's solo. Archer bends the notes with some soft touches provided by Royston just underneath. Bruce Barth gives the trio the room to breath throughout this evening but on "Looking Up" everyone shines with their own unique talents.

While there is a considerable amount of bias for this record and artist, I have to tell you Live At Smalls is a killer set that is probably the perfect primer for anyone approaching Bruce Barth's music. I was really upset I missed this show but it's great to have this document of what must have been a stellar evening. Highly Recommended.

The video below is from a live quartet performance. But this track is also featured in trio form on Live At Smalls.

Rob Mazurek's Starlicker: Double Demon

Starlicker 

Double Demon (Delmark; 2011)

Rob Mazurek (cornet)

John Herndon (drums)

Jason Adasiewicz (vibraphone)

I have been a fan of Rob Mazurek for only a couple of years, after picking up a copy of one of his many collective groups, Exploding Star Orchestra. One of the great things I've always liked about Mazurek's records is how different they are from each other. There are many artists in recent years who collaborate with different group and ensembles but the material somehow ends up sounding very similar. For the most part that's not a bad thing. But it does leave the listening with the question, "What's next?".

Rob Mazurek's latest project, Starlicker, and there debut Double Demon, is definitely in the category of "what's next". A collection of deep exploratory sounds built on a number layered themes. In all it works beautifully. Double Demon while recorded by a trio has the muscle and dexterity of an ensemble. Those you will familiar with this trios individual works will know that they all enjoy the use/manipulation of space and sound. Together this unique lineup (no bass) have created a highly enjoyable and other-worldly recording. There have always been comparisons with Sun Ra when it comes to the compositional structure Rob Mazurek writes but this trio plants a different seed in the listener's ear.

Double Demon was born out improvising sessions and then a brief tour to coordinate material in front of an audience. The music and the trio work as tight well, organic unit. The title track illustrates this wonderfully. It's a fierce opening number with rolling patterns and moments where vibes, drums and cornet become one. It may sound like a cacophony but it's actually beauty in rhythm. "Triple Hex" moves with delicate low level sonic patterns with Mazurek and Adaisewicz combining with well balance ambient tones. The tune finally erupts with the inclusion of Herndon with some impressive percussive work. It's hypnotic and challenging and highly illuminating. "Andromeda" gives off a vibes of the title tracks little brother. Except here, Herndon is the driving force with Adaisewicz and Mazurek both adding the harmonic to exciting effect.

Double Demon is a unique session in the Mazurek catalogue in the way he has stripped his usual quintet, quartet or ensemble format. It has allow for more focus and concentrate build up on song structure than previous outings. Rob Mazurek still might not everyones cup of tea but his ability to make varied and exciting recordings every time out is just one of many reason you need to take the journey and listen to Starlicker. Enjoy...

Nicole Mitchell: Awakening

Nicole Mitchell (flute)

Awakening (Delmark; 2011)

Avreeayl Ra (drums)

Jeff Parker (guitar)

Harrison Bankhead (bass)

Well, I always get a few friends who ask me about jazz flute. Unfortunately most of them are joking (e.g. Will Farrell as Ron Burgundy in the film AnchorMan), but when it comes to jazz flute there are very few out there. Yes, there are a quite a few who double as sax players. But sax is usually the main instrument and flute comes second. So it was a bit of a surprise to receive the new album Awakening (Delmark) by Nicole Mitchell. I really don't own any of her recordings but I have a number of albums she's played on (including the recent Exploding Stars Orchestra, Mike Reed, and Anthony Braxton). Even more surprising was when I told my friends about her, they already knew about her and were shocked I didn't know. Apparently I'm the one who looks like the arse now.

Over the course of the decade Mitchell has been a stalwart on the Chicago scene (as a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Music along with legend Fred Anderson and new trailblazer, Matana Roberts), as well as abroad. Her style is very spiritual, African and richly improvisational. Fans of the work by James Finn or John Esposito should definitely take a spin with Nicole Mitchell. Setting the tone for this project, Mitchell utilized a slightly stripped unit from her more complex larger ensembles. These groups also explored larger themes and motifs as you would expect. Awakening with its small group set up allows the quartet to experiment more with sound and space.

"Center Of The Earth" and "Momentum" both are illustrious and expansive pieces where Mitchell's flute is more like Coltrane on sax and not flute. Parker's playing is fluid and highly expressive. Bankhead and Ra keep a steady hypnotic groove that helps both tunes rotate with a real sensuality. "Momentum" contains a few lovely passages from Parker. This is another instance in which Mitchell allows her bandmates to explore structures on the own terms. At times throughout Awakening I felt as though I was listening to the Phil Ranelin era The Tribe, Doug Carn or poetic verse from 70s under-rated poet Wanda Robinson. I was thinking, it might even be nice to spin this at a party along side material from Soweto Kinch. What a way to throw a crowd straight into a history lesson, eh!?!

The quartet gets funky and humorous on "There", a solid number where Mitchell's calm playing guides the group into a rawer but subtle fusion style motifs. The title track "Awakening" closes the album in a midtempo groove with Parker and Ra having some stellar individual moments. Mitchell's playing rises above here with some strong and intense harmonic passages. When listening to Awakening you realize this group has taken a number of subtle but urgent themes and stretched them with excitement and beauty; this makes listening to Awakening a real pleasure. At the end of it all I became a fan in a matter of hours and then went back to a few of the albums I had where Mitchell performs to listen even closer to her vision. Wow. This Awakening is awesome stuff.