The trumpeter, composer and musical theorist Wadada Leo Smith turns eighty at the end of 2021. A number of significant releases are planned during the year to celebrate that milestone. First out of the gate are a pair of 3-CD sets on the TUM label, a Finnish imprint that has previously issued a batch of his projects in various formats. Reading the tune titles on Sacred Ceremonies, collaborations with electric bassist Bill Laswell and percussion master Milford Graves, and Trumpet, a solo set, provides a firm sense of Smith’s abiding interests. Music, of course, is a primary concern, and it’s worthwhile to note the breadth of his inspirations, which includes such figures as Baby Dodds, Albert Ayler, Amina Claudine Myers, Prince, and Minnie Riperton. Writers and poets are another focus for Smith, with dedications to James Baldwin and Henry Dumas. Social justice (Social Justice - A Fire for Reimagining the World, one of the Sacred Ceremonies) and spiritual concerns (Discourses on the Sufi Path, on disc 3 of Trumpet) also figure into Smith’s insatiable curiosity about the world. The unique trajectory of Smith’s life began in Leland, Mississippi, where his family home was a meeting place for blues artists like B.B. King and Elmore James. He played in the high school concert and marching bands, and composed his first piece (for three trumpets!) at age 12. You can read all about his career in the extensive biographical notes that TUM includes in the thick booklets that accompany the music. Even with his extensive experiences playing in Army bands for about 5 years, his move to Chicago in 1967 as an early member of the AACM, and his subsequent development of a music system that he calls “ahkreanvention,” Smith maintains that “the Blues was my first language and it never went away.” The truth of that statement is in the playing, where his acute sensitivity and the vocal-like aspects of his trumpet playing are continually on display.
Sacred Ceremonies combines separate duet sessions with Graves and Laswell recorded on successive days in May 2016 with a trio session from the previous December. Smith is no stranger to duets with percussionists, having previously recorded sessions with Ed Blackwell (1986), Yoshisaburo "Sabu" Toyozumi (1994), Hamid Drake (1998), Adam Rudolph (2002), Gunter “Baby” Sommer (2006), Jack DeJohnette (2008), and Louis Moholo-Moholo (2011). Graves’ very personal sense of rhythm, centered in the body and his researches into the heartbeat as a healing force, dovetails with Smith’s expansive sense of open forms and free improvisation. Their duet session on the first disc is a searching exploration of their connection and a distinct manifestation of what Smith calls Graves’ “conscious heart that’s over-flowing with Divine Love.” On the second disc, Bill Laswell, with a seemingly limitless capacity for fitting into any musical situation, proves that he is one of a handful of electric bass guitarists who can go head to head with Smith and create beauty in the process. Their duets are often rather delicate, like Donald Ayler’s Rainbow Summit or the somber Mysterious Night. One of the set’s many highpoints comes when, appropriately enough, Smith evokes the sound of a muted Miles Davis on the pair’s tribute to the great drummer Tony Williams. Laswell’s complementary throbbing bass part, with some subtle electronics in the mix, keeps the music moving smartly. Smith’s assertive trumpet makes a great combination with Laswell’s subdued and enveloping bass on Earth - A Morning Song, another of the CD’s highlights. Finally, on the third disc of the set, there’s the majestic sound of all three. For a little over an hour, the trio digs deeply into their connection as sonic adventurers who recognize no boundaries in their music. There is some history among the players: Laswell and Graves performed together in New York and recorded a duet album of their own for TUM in 2013, and the bassist contributed to Smith’s Najwa CD in 2014, also on TUM. First is Social Justice - A Fire For Reimagining the World, with a blazing Smith, the loose and free drums of Graves, and Laswell’s resourceful electric bass. on. Next up is the urgent improvisation of Myths of Civilizations and Revolutions with a loose-limbed Graves alongside Smith and Laswell’s sophisticated call and response interaction. The bassist starts off Truth in Expansion with an extended solo that mixes string sounds and effects that make it sound more like an organ. Graves soon sets up a beat, the bass falls right in, and Smith joins the fray. Graves begins The Healer’s Direct Energy with his Afro-Cuban styled drums and the steady shake of his hi-hat. The piece develops into a rich conversation among Smith’s clear and relaxed tones, Graves’ busy clatter, and Laswell’s bass with that organ effect at work. Waves of Elevated Horizontal Forces starts out with forceful bass and trumpet; the entrance of Graves’ drums after the first two minutes settles things down into a dancing groove. Smith’s trumpet, with his characteristic unhurried approach to improvisation, unfolds in contrast to the more animated rhythms of Graves and Laswell. The effect is to give the track a degree of inner tension that pulls the listener briskly along. The plaintive cry of Smith’s horn on An Epic Journey Inside the Center of Color is yet another illustration of the centrality of the blues to Smith’s aesthetic. He has the first two minutes to himself before bass and drums create a suitable atmosphere for further musical travel. The closing Ruby Red Largo - A Sonnet is loose and free as the music sweetly strolls and bobs along. It’s a fitting end to this enlightening musical journey. Sacred Ceremonies is highly recommended.
Even a single CD of solo trumpet can prove challenging to many music enthusiasts, but Wadada Leo Smith’s first album in 1971 for his own Kabell label was titled Creative Music-1: Six Solo Improvisations. He’s continued to mine the possibilities of the format over the decades, including the superb Solo: Reflections And Meditations On Monk in 2015. The recently released triple-CD set, simply titled Trumpet, offers two and a quarter hours of solo music recorded in a fifteenth century stone church in Pohja, Finland, during four days in July 2016. Over the course of fourteen pieces, we’re treated to a cornucopia of trumpet sounds, from a clear clarion call to a pinched, nasal tone, and much more. The natural resonance and reverb time of the room becomes another tool for Smith to manipulate, as the space itself becomes a duet partner. I think of the three discs as separate recitals. There’s a mixture of pieces dedicated to a pair of Sufi teachers, one for James Baldwin: No Name in the Street; War, and another devoted to the joys of a sauna bath, Finnish style. Most of the pieces are inspired by other musicians, including bassist Reggie Workman, trumpeters Howard McGhee and Miles Davis, saxophonist Albert Ayler, and fellow AACM members drummer Steve McCall, violinist Leroy Jenkins, and keyboardist Amina Claudine Myers. Finally, there’s a twelve minute suite entitled Family - A Contemplation of Love, Parts 1-4, and a finale called Trumpet. There’s a mindful and emotional clarity to Wadada’s every note, and his creative meandering takes the listener on an absorbing journey. In typically comprehensive TUM fashion, the lavish booklet includes a few short poems by Smith, a poem by saxophonist Oliver Lake, Smith’s notes to each of the pieces, an illustrated discography of his previous solo efforts, a biographical note, and even a note about the church’s history, along with photographs of the building inside and out. Sitting down with the music, reading Smith’s words, and looking at his self-portraits used in the art design, make you feel that you’ve been in the presence of a warm, thoughtful and distinctly creative individual. Happily recommended.
Sacred Ceremonies: TUM BOX 003; Disc 1: Wadada Leo Smith (tpt) Milford Graves (d, perc); West Orange, NJ, May 27, 2016; Nyoto (in 3 parts)/ Baby Dodds in Congo Square/ Celebration Rhythms/ Poetic Sonics/ The Post: Play Ebony Play Ivory; 53:41. Disc 2: Smith, Bill Laswell (basses); West Orange, NJ, May 26, 2016; Ascending the Sacred Waterfall - A Ceremonial Practice/ Prince - A Blue Diamond Spirit/ Donald Ayler’s Rainbow Summit/ Tony Williams/ Mysterious Night/ Earth - A Morning Song/ Minnie Riperton - The Chicago Bronzeville Master Blaster; 55:36. Disc 3: Smith, Graves, & Laswell; West Orange, NJ, December 11-12, 2015; Social Justice - A Fire for Reimagining the World/ Myths of Civilizations and Revolutions/ Truth in Expansion/ The Healer’s Direct Energy/ Waves of Elevated Horizontal Forces/ An Epic Journey Inside the Center of Color; Ruby Red Largo - A Sonnet; 64:45.
Trumpet: TUM BOX 002; Wadada Leo Smith (tpt); Pohja, Finland, July 26-29, 2016; Disc 1 (50:01): Albert Ayler/ Rashomon (Part : The Film/ Part 2: The Killing/ Part 3: The Court/ Part 4: The Memories and Reflections/ Part 5: The Verdict/ Howard and Miles - A Photographic Image/ Metallic Rainbow/ Sauna - A Healthy Journey. Disc 2 (44:53): Malik el-Shabazz and the People of the Shahada/ The Great Litany (Part 1 - The Opening/Part 2 - First Meditation/ Part 3 - Second Meditation/ Part 4 - Third Meditation/ Part 5 - The Closing)/ Leroy Jenkins Violin Expressions/ James Baldwin - No Name in the Street: War/ Amina Claudine Myers. Disc 3 (41:29): Sonic Night - Night Colors (For Reggie Workman)/ Discourses on the Sufi Path - A Remembrance of Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh (Part 1 - Chivalry; Noble Attributes; Unity of Being/ Part 2 - Festival of the Two Breaths/ Part 3 - Pilgrimage; The Heart; The Valley of Annihilation; Divine Unity/ Part 4 - Presence of Breath; Presence of Heart)/ Family - A Contemplation of Love (Part 1 - Agape - Unselfish Love/ Part 2 - Philia - Love, Friendship, Affinity and Beloved/ Part 3 - Eros - Representing Love or the Power of Love/ Part 4 - Agape - Unselfish Love; The Love of God for Humankind)/ Trumpet. www.tumrecords.com
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