Wadada Leo Smith: Occupy The World/Twine Forest

Wadada Leo Smith (trumpet)
Angelica Sanchez (piano)
Twine Forest (Clean Feed; 2013)

Wadada Leo Smith (trumpet)
Tumo Orchestra
Occupy The World (Tum Records; 2013)

Intimacy and intricacy are the best ways to describe two recent collaborations from Wadada Leo Smith this year. The first, with Tumo Orchestra and then in a duo session with pianist Anglecia Sanchez.

Occupy The World is another epic orchestral work with lots of improvisation and intense mood setting movements. Inspired by the global Occupy movement from the past few years, this session is not as enveloping as last years Ten Freedom Summers but it is just as broad in scope.

"Queen Hatshepsut" inspired by the Egyptian queen of the same name, is a piece flows up and down with rough chords from both Smith, the string section and Kantonen's fierce and sublime piano performance. The title track has various stages of deep reflection, as in the middle sections filled with atmospherics and free float trumpet lines.

In a similar inspirational voyage, Smith explores more intimacy with Angelica Sanchez on Twine Forest. The two have worked together for years, Sanchez is part of Smith's Golden Quartet and Organic group. Surprising that this is their first outing as a duo. Either way, it's bright, personal and highly captivating.

"Retinal Sand" sees Sanchez experimenting with the insides of the piano strings and Smith swirling with haunting accuracy. In addition to explosive outburst that blend seamlessly with the rolling and very punctuated notes from Sanchez. "In The Falls Of" while being improvised shapes itself into a lovely almost romantic ballad. The notes are soft with a melody and sparseness that stretches the piece and the imagination making for a devotional experience.

Two excellent sessions featuring similar deep, inspiring thoughts but with very clear distinction and execution. Wadada Leo Smith makes clear that with Occupy The World and Twine Forest, he is one of the most creative and prolific composers among his elder statesman colleagues on the scene today.

Wadada Leo Smith/Louis Moholo-Moholo: Ancestors

Wadada Leo Smith (trumpet)

Louis Moholo-Moholo (drums)

Ancestors (Tum Records Oy; 2012)

A spiritual journey filled with verve and creativity. Surprisingly the first collaborative meeting between Wadada Leo Smith and Louis Moholo-Moholo. Both have worked together in various combinations but never alone - together. So this meeting and document, Ancestors, has a real sense of excitement with possibilities that are endless and intriguing.

On the opener, "Moholo-Moholo/Golden Spirit," both artists give their respective upbringing's credits. Leo Smith's southern roots provide a blues-like hue tied next to Moholo-Moholo's rich African tradition. The introspective spirit and deeply passionate tones create an ominous texture that slowly pulls you into their world. "Jackson Pollock-Action" is more a free flowing experiment between the two musicians, finding various jumping off points that create short motifs that shine with each sporadic note. 

The epic title "Ancestors" is a suite of five improvised movements. Part 2& 3 add touches of melody and groove intertwined with their improvised moments. While the closing movements (4& 5) are a more determined piece of African percussion and poetic adventure. Leo Smith's fast and steady pace in the begining is a powerful harmonic force only tempered in the final movement by Moholo-Moholo's vocal tribute to greats past and present.

In the past twelve months Wadada Leo Smith has been an inspiring form. A stellar selection of diverse releases that are all worth digging into. Ancestors is no exception. Highly Recommended.

Wadada Leo Smith: Ten Freedom Summers

Wadada Leo Smith (trumpet)

Ten Freedom Summers (Cuneiform; 2012)

The Golden Quintet and The Southwest Chamber Music

This is unlike any other Wadada Leo Smith record I've heard. It's extremely well focused and makes a real emotional impact. Smith's resurgence in the last 15 years has brought with it a slew of releases and a host of ideas. With his latest, Ten Freedom Summers, Wadada Leo Smith has produced that single masterpiece of both personal and public history. Even more so than his earlier large ensemble work on Tzadik in the mid-nineties.

Named for the summer of 1964 when a massive campaign was undertaken to register African Americans to vote, Leo Smith takes a wide look at America's historic struggle over the course of 1954-1964. Where we've come and how far we still have to go.

Performed by two ensembles, his Golden Quartet/Quintet and The Southwest Chamber Music, Leo Smith shows off two distinct sides of his compositional skills. First, his ability to continually write challenging and inspiring music in contemporary settings, and second, a staggering vision for large ensembles. This creativity was on display recently in New York as part of his birthday celebration this past winter. But with Ten Freedom Summers you get the full breath of what the live evening was probably just the rehearsal for.

"Dred Scott" is intense, dark and deeply personal. The rolling piano and Leo Smith's fierce trumpet lead the opening salvo. The quintet then proceed through a number frenzied chords which you could say resembles the chaos of the early struggles of African Americans during the late 50s. Leo Smith's playing is supreme here. You can feel this energy and life that overshadows previous efforts of the last few years. As with many of the quintet performances on this epic journey, you get a sense that he has said to the group "challenge yourself."

"Emmett Till" and "John F Kennedy" are more extended pieces that quietly carry the listener on a painful yet painful yet spiritual journey. Leo Smith's writing for the larger ensemble piece "John F Kennedy" is astounding. It's fresh and staggering. You might have expected something in the vain of Philip Glass or Steve Reich. Instead it's more Shostakovich or Wagner. Heavy and powerful.

"Freedom Summer," "Lyndon Johnson's Great Society," "The Little Rock Nine" rely on the always superb Susie Ibarra to deliver the driving open chords to present a cinematic tale. Anthony Davis on piano, Jim Foschia on clarinet and The Southwest Chamber Music give both pieces a wide open yet haunting sonic texture, with the addition of sharp intersecting lines by Leo Smith.

"Democracy," a Golden Quintet piece is the closet thing you'll get to the more recent free jazz aesthetics of Leo Smith's recent work. Leo Smith allows the musicians to roam freely throughout but all lines are squarely focused on the main themes that Leo Smith returns to at the end of piece. Short, concise and elegant tones and passages.

Ten Freedom Summers is a piece that should be listened to without thinking about the history, particularly if you are an American. American Jazz has produced a number of historical statements in reaction to oppression and in association to civil/human rights. Wadada has created a document that is about the struggles over adversity that all cultures have and will continue to grapple with. And grapple we shall. Until we truly can say we have overcome.

Highly Recommended and a truly staggering work of genius. This really ranks up there as one Wadada Leo Smith's best works.

Wadada Leo Smith: Dark Lady Of The Sonnets

Wadada Leo Smith (trumpet)

Live At Roulette NYC 16.12.2011

Dark Lady Of The Sonnets (Tum Records; 2011)

Pheeroan akLaff (drums)

Min Xiao-Fen (pipa; vocals)

A Wadada Leo Smith record or concert is always going to be an experience. There will be unquestioned excellence on the part of the leader. There will be intricate direction given to his bandmates. And there will always be unique use of sound and space which creates a very interesting ride for the listener and audience.

Wadada celebrated his 70th year with a devoted group of New Yorkers (yours truly included) who experienced a wide range of styles and ideas flying from the dreads to trumpet. It was an evening of two distinct lineups. First his Sextet, which deployed more of a "work-in-progress" minimal session. The trumpet gave very tight direction to the members but they each utilized it with superb effect. The standouts were Susie Ibarra, who continually shows why she is one of the best avant garde drummers on the scene. She had a force and fluidity that felt like a tsunami. John Lindberg on bass was also stellar, with a performance that seemed to move in and out of consciousness. The closing piece I swear his bass was set up to a wah wah kit because those grooves were funky and psychedelic all at once.

The second lineup featured members of his Organic Ensemble and Silver Orchestra's. This lineup floated between experimental, funky and fusion. Their previous releases, Spiritual Dimensions and Hearts Reflections are reflected in this performance. There's a more structured and obviously larger sound. The group feels more unified and head in the clear direction. There is space within the notes to improvise whether it is with electronics, vibes, guitars or Smith's distinct notes. This set had more for the audience to grasp onto and went in enough directions that it was immensely enjoyable.

Moving away from the present's large ensemble works to a recent past studio session, Dark Lady Of The Sonnets (Tum Records), recorded in 2007 but only released this year, celebrates life with a real sense of intimacy. It actually took me a couple of listens to really connect with the record. I had been so accustomed to the larger ensemble works that hearing this relatively quiet piece was a little jarring.

The trio setting really allows you to feel a lot more of Smith's playing than ever before. "Sarah Bell Wallace" is dedicated to Smith's mother and it is a somber piece but also features high moments which signify the celebration of her life.

"Blues: Cosmic Beauty" is more what I was used to. A burst of energy from Smith's trumpet with a unified but free form moves from both longtime bandmate Pheeroan akLaff and Xiao-Fen's excellent and unique sounding pipa. The piece gently descends in the middle with akLaff and Smith sharing interchanges with Fen's improvised vocalise. Both "Dark Lady Of The Sonnets" and the closing piece "Mibra" both see Smith's trumpet rising higher and higher. The proceedings are more upbeat and enthralling but still challenge your patience.

Dark Lady Of The Sonnets is about emotion and inner beauty. It's one of the more well focused yet still open flowing albums Wadada Leo Smith has recorded. This is a great record hot on the hills of his Organic releases. And its a great way to celebrate his 70 years of adventurous sounds. Happy Birthday Mr. Smith.

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.