Jazz Articles about Wadada Leo Smith

About Wadada Leo Smith

Album Review

Wadada Leo Smith’s Mbira: Dark Lady of the Sonnets

by AAJ Italy Staff
January 18, 2012

È un triangolo magico quello tracciato da Wadada Leo Smith con Min Xiao-Fen e Pheeroan akLaff: nonostante il nome del gruppo rimandi a uno strumento africano, di questo strumento non c'è traccia e l'elemento straniante è fornito dal pipa della Xiao-Fen [splendida specialista di questo liuto cinese, già collaboratrice di Zorn o Björk]. Questo triangolo magico è in grado di evocare atmosfere e sonorità che perdono ogni connotazione geografica per trasportare l'ascoltatore in un mondo di bellezza intensa e sospesa. ...

Album Review

Wadada Leo Smith: Heart's Reflections

by AAJ Italy Staff
January 16, 2012

Iniziamo subito dicendo che questo doppio album di Wadada Leo Smith è veramente molto bello. Proseguiamo invitando la critica ad ascoltarlo senza necessariamente fare paragoni con Miles Davis, anche perché i paragoni ci portano inevitabilmente fuori strada. Non del tutto ovviamente, visto che certi riferimenti sono comunque validi, ma esaminare questo doppio album solo sotto il segno di Miles è profondamente sbagliato. Dobbiamo aggiungere, ma non suoni come un rimprovero, che un pochino Wadada Leo Smith se li è cercati, ...

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Album Review

Wadada Leo Smith's Organic: Heart’s Reflections

Read "Heart’s Reflections" reviewed by Nic Jones

by Nic Jones
September 21, 2011

Wadada Leo Smith is currently making some of the most distinctive music on the planet; its expressive depth, as exemplified by Heart's Reflections, seemingly born not merely of one lifetime, but of several. The trumpeter's means of expression, which has never been the stuff of mere virtuosity, is now purged of all excess, resulting in something else, deeply enriched with clarity of thought and execution. It could argued that such clarity doesn't come easily, but in bringing together the musicians ...

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Album Review

Wadada Leo Smith's Organic: Heart's Reflections

Read "Heart's Reflections" reviewed by Jerry D'Souza

by Jerry D'Souza
August 11, 2011

The creative arc of Wadada Leo Smith describes a man of many talents. He was a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) before forming the Creative Construction Company with Anthony Braxton and Leroy Jenkins. He has organized music into rhythm units and added a form of notation he called Akhreanvention. He plays several instruments, primarily the trumpet and flugelhorn. His instincts have also led to the formation of different groups to give voice to the ...

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Album Review

Wadada Leo Smith's Organic: Heart's Reflections

Read "Heart's Reflections" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
May 22, 2011

For Mies van der Rohe, the saying “less is more" might be true. But for trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, more is always more. Heart's Reflections is his fifth release for Cuneiform Records and, like his three prior efforts, a double CD.Organic, one of Smith's numerous working bands, is a continuation of his Yo Miiles! project with guitarist Henry Kaiser, the jazz/rock love child of Miles Davis' electric era. Organic was first recorded as the second disc on Smith's ...

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Extended Analysis

Yo Miles! Revisited: Lightning and Shinjuku

by John Kelman
March 14, 2011

Amongst the plethora of tributes to trumpet icon Miles Davis' electric period on Columbia, beginning with 1969's In a Silent Way and ending with 1975's Agharta and Pangaea, only a few stand out as being truly reverential--not just to the electrified energy and jungle funk of the music, but to its undeniably avant leanings as well. Perhaps it's because guitarist Henry Kaiser and trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith live largely in the left-of-center, that their Yo Miles! Project has been particularly ...

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Interview

Wadada Leo Smith: The Teacher

by Franz A. Matzner
March 14, 2011

Wadada Leo Smith's career as a creative musician spans more than forty years. The trumpeter/composer's myriad accomplishments have been well-documented, particularly recently, as his recoding and performance career have undergone a marked renaissance, the success of which has shown a spotlight not only on his recent undertakings, but also inspired a reexamination of his past works.As an early contributor to the development of the free music revolution, Smith was an early member of the Association for the Advancement ...