Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Wadada Leo Smith & Louis Moholo-Moholo: Ancestors
Wadada Leo Smith & Louis Moholo-Moholo: Ancestors
Following the previous releases of Smith's duos with drummers Gunter Baby Sommer on Wisdom In Time (Intakt, 2007), Adam Rudolph on Compassion (Meta/Kabell, 2006), Jack DeJohnette with America (Tzadik, 2007) and Ed Blackwell (from 1986) on The Blue Mountain's Sun Drummer (Kabell, 2010), this current 2011 session invokes the spirit of the glorified body.
Together, Smith and Moholo-Moholo meld into one, the trumpet often imitating the human voice and, for the heartbeat, the drums.
Both musicians, comfortable in large ensemble settings, excel here in these intimate surroundings. Smith composed two tracks to Moholo-Moholo's one, with two improvisations rounding out the session. Are the drums influenced by Moholo- Moholo's South African roots? Certainly. He keeps a constant heartbeat pulse throughout, centering this recording on the humane, with compassionate strokes. This isn't a competition between the pair, it's more of an affaire de cœur.
The ease of the opening "Moholo-Moholo/Golden Spirit," a leisurely stroll with muted trumpet and bass drum, gives way to the snappy snare rolls of "No Name In The Street, James Baldwin," with Smith blurting and blatting exclamatory statements into the air. Where others might utilize the tug of trading notes, these two simply build upon each other's sound. The drummer's "Siholaro" rumbles as thunder while Smith is at his most lyrical. The highlight of this disc is the five-part, 25-minute improvisation, "Ancestors." Begun with chimes and shakers, the piece transmogrifies into a spoken homage to jazz masters, from saxophonist Sonny Rollins to drummer Han Bennink.
The duo of Wadada Leo Smith and Louis Moholo-Moholo creates a warmhearted session that doesn't spare the beautiful.
Track Listing
Moholo-Moholo/Golden Spirit; No Name In The Street, James Baldwin; Jackson Pollock, Action; Siholaro; Ancestors.
Personnel
Wadada Leo Smith
trumpetWadada Leo Smith: trumpet, percussion; Louis Moholo-Moholo: drums, percussion, voice.
Album information
Title: Ancestors | Year Released: 2012 | Record Label: TUM Records
About Wadada Leo Smith
Tags
PREVIOUS / NEXT
Become a Sustaining Member
Since 1995, All About Jazz has championed jazz as an art form and supported the musicians who create it. Over three decades, it has grown into one of the world's leading jazz resources, serving hundreds of thousands of readers, musicians, presenters and industry professionals each month.
Help Build the Future of All About Jazz
Your support helps us continue building All About Jazz for the next generation—expanding our editorial coverage, preserving jazz history, developing new community features and creating better ways to discover the music and the people behind it.
Become a sustaining member for as little as $20 per year and you'll immediately enjoy an ad-free experience along with access to subscriber features and future articles for a full year.
Together, we're not simply sustaining All About Jazz—we're building its future. Thank you for being part of the journey.
