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Wadada Leo Smith, Amina Claudine Myers: Central Park’s Mosaics of Reservoir, Lake, Paths and Gardens
by Giuseppe Segala
Amina Claudine Myers e Wadada Leo Smith sono stati protagonisti fin dalle prime mosse del fermento artistico che ha preso il nome di Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, a Chicago nel 1965 per iniziativa di Muhal Richard Abrams, Malachi Favors, Fred Anderson e altri artisti più giovani, che cercavano nuove strade, mescolando in modo inedito improvvisazione e scrittura, musica e spinta sociale. Ma non avevano mai registrato in duo, anche se proprio tale formula è stata alla base ...
Continue ReadingWadada Leo Smith and Amina Claudine Myers: Central Park's Mosaics of Reservoir, Lake, Paths and Gardens
by Doug Collette
On Central Park's Mosaics of Reservoir, Lake, Paths and Gardens, trumpeter/composer Wadada Leo Smith and keyboardist/composer Amina Claudine Myers evince as much curiosity as passion for their subject(s). This is the first recorded collaboration between the two, but they were both early members of AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians). And besides Smith's familiarity with the duo format--The Emerald Duets (Tum Records, 2022)--he had composed a paean to the (now) newly-minted NEA Jazz Master keyboardist in 2015, titling ...
Continue ReadingWadada Leo Smith - Amina Claudine Myers: Central Park's Mosaics of Reservoir, Lake, Paths and Gardens
by Mike Jurkovic
Sacred music for what many consider a very sacred place, Central Park's Mosaics of Reservoir, Lake, Paths, and Gardens unites two natural forces- -the trumpeted truth of Wadada Leo Smith and the open air church of pianist & organist Amina Claudine Myers--for their first collaboration since their early years as active members of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). Founded in 1965, in the heat of Chicago, by pianist Muhal Richard Abrams, pianist Jodie Christian, drummer Steve McCall ...
Continue ReadingWadada Leo Smith / Amina Claudine Myers: Central Park’s Mosaics of Reservoir, Lake, Paths and Gardens
by Karl Ackermann
Since the beginning of the 2000s, Wadada Leo Smith has produced a number of small masterpieces in the form of themed box sets. The prolific composer/trumpeter has aged into a creative period analogous to few of his contemporaries. His monumental Ten Freedom Summers (TUM, 2013)--a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize--America's National Parks (Cuneiform Records, 2016), and Trumpet (TUM, 2021), have each taken disparate roads in redefining creative music. The relative brevity and contemplative atmosphere of Central Park's Mosaics of Reservoir, ...
Continue ReadingSylvie Courvoisier: Chimaera
by John Sharpe
Even though pianist Sylvie Courvoisier has bassist Drew Gress and drummer Kenny Wollesen on hand for Chimaera, the six-piece band is a long way from being merely the storied threesome, which made Double Windsor (Tzadik, 2014), D'Agala (Intakt, 2018) and Free Hoops (Intakt, 2020), plus added guests. As she explains in the liners, the music was originally commissioned for the 2021 Sons d'Hiver festival in Paris and was inspired by the surreal works of French Symbolist artist ...
Continue ReadingA Compilation Of New Releases From 2023 Including Cory Wong, Jizue And Matteo Mancusco
by Len Davis
Continuing our wrap of 2023 new releases including Wadada Leo Smith, Jizue, Cory Wong, Funky Knuckles and Marriage Material.Playlist Echoes of Zoo “Lizard Dance" from Speech of Species (W.E.R.E) 00:00 Wadada Leo Smith “Muhammad Ali and George Forman Rumble in Zaire" from Fire Illuminations (Kabel) 05:52 Cory Wong “Stomping Grounds" from The Power Station Tour (Roundwound) 11:46 Loam “Choose Your Fighter" from Featherbrained (Self Produced) 17:50 Jizue “Quindago" from Biotop (Victor)23:50 The Funky Knuckles “Back Meetings" from The ...
Continue ReadingSylvie Courvoisier: Chimaera
by Troy Dostert
It says something about pianist Sylvie Courvoisier's current profile in creative jazz that she could assemble such a distinguished ensemble for her latest release, Chimaera. Augmenting her usual trio of bassist Drew Gress and drummer Kenny Wollesen are trumpeters Wadada Leo Smith and Nate Wooley, and with the always interesting Christian Fennesz completing the group on guitar and electronics, one would expect extraordinary results. And so they are--worthy of a lengthy, two-CD treatment, in fact. Courvoisier's work with ...
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