Sylvie Courvoisier: Angel Falls

The history of humankind resounds with the sound of piano/trumpet duets. But not like this one. Not like Angel Falls. Because the true beauty of Angel Falls is that grandmaster Wadada Leo Smith, aided and abetted by the fervent curiosity of Brooklyn- based/Switzerland native pianist Sylvie Courvoisier, enlists the listener as an active creator in truly beatific, beautiful music. 

That is a magic thing that does not happen often. All too often, the audience is reduced to listening and observing. Left only to marvel, judge, compare. But magic can be many things. And when it comes to duets as inspired as Angel Falls, the magic does what magic is meant to do: calm the savage beast and inspire greater dreams.

The two are coaxing. Without words. As Smith stutters and sputters, "Vireo Belli" becomes a ruminative scripture playing against Courvoisier's penetrating presence. The pianist—whose recent foray with guitarist Mary Halvorson, Bone Bells, (Pyroclastic, 2025) holds a sure lock on this year's best-of-lists—stuns and seduces in harmony, co-creating the singular "A Line Through Time" and the spiky "Sonic Utterance."

Familiar with each other's artistry through their work with John Zorn, Marcus Gilmore, and Nate Wooley Angel Falls is a through-composed passion play from the opening adagio, the limpid "Olo'Upnea and lightning" to the closing epiphany "Kairos."Propelled by Courvoisier's cunning, metabolic approach—equal parts high Euro-chamber and downtown avant- garde—and Smith's stately, mortal wisdom, "Whispering Images" becomes enshrined in time. "Naomi Peak" creates a warm, anticipatory air of prologue. "Angels Falls:" A mystery unraveled.   

But pay no attention to titles. Not so much for the reason that they might mislead, but that they hold any pertinence at all. Angel Falls, recorded in two hours  (perhaps, while the rest of us were napping) at Oktaven Audio in Mount Vernon, NY, by Ryan Streber, is a whole music that takes you by surprise. It is a far less abrasive language of debate. Like magic, like Angel Falls, neither happens often.