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Wadada Leo Smith, Aruan Ortiz & Neill Duncan
by Maurice Hogue
I know that the official International Jazz Day is April 30th, but around the One Man's Jazz HQ, pretty much every show features international artists. This episode is no exception with music from artists representing 14 different countries over the 23 tracks. Heading the list is the unstoppable Wadada Leo Smith with a new band called Orange Wave Electric. The last word in the name is the clue as to the direction Smith takes on Fire Illuminations. Pianist Aruan Ortiz ...
Continue ReadingWadada Leo Smith: Fire Illuminations
by Mike Jurkovic
Eighty-one year old trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith comes out flaring like Bitches Brew era Miles Davis, as Fire Illuminations jumps the funk rock from the break of the muscular conflagration “Ntozake." And the grunge jazz clips along as guitarists Nels Cline, Brandon Ross, and Lamar Smith vie, bite, sting, and quarrel over an insistent bass drum power-groove courtesy of bassists Bill Laswell and Melvin Gibbs, percussionist Mauro Refosco, drummer Pheeroan aKlaff, and the deep space electronics of Hardedge.
Continue ReadingWadada Leo Smith: Fire Illuminations
by Dan McClenaghan
Trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith fronts lots of different bands and puts out lots of albums. After a busy period when he released five boxed sets, totaling 27 CDs, here he debuts his new all-star ensemble Orange Wave Electric, with the download-only offering, Fire Illuminations. As the band name implies, the sound is electric, featuring three electric guitarists, two electric bassists and an electronicist, joining the leader's horn, percussionist Mauro Refosco and drummer Pheeroan aKLaff. For comparison's sake--and using ...
Continue ReadingSatoko Fujii: Hyaku: One Hundred Dreams
by Dan McClenaghan
Country music artist Merle Haggard (1937 -2016) released 66 studio albums in his day, along with five instrumental recordings and several live and compilation discs. When asked in a late-career interview if his upcoming album was a good one, he answered (paraphrasing). “I don't know. I've made so many I don't know if the next one's any good or not." He was probably pulling the interviewer's leg. It is hard to imagine an artist presenting a new work ...
Continue ReadingWho's Your Wadaddy?
by Patrick Burnette
From time to time the bastards do a show devoted to one artist, and this time, happenstance leads us to feted and prolific “out" trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith. His career stretches back to the seventies and he's worked with a murderer's row of avant-garde musicians, but we're focusing on more recent work with him as a leader. Strap yourselves in for a challenging ride but don't worry—pop matters brings things firmly back to earth with looks at Van Halen's last ...
Continue ReadingQasim Naqvi / Wadada Leo Smith / Andrew Cyrille: Two Centuries
by Chris May
Strangely, given their similar ages and trajectories, trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith and percussionist Andrew Cyrille have worked together infrequently. But when they have, the results have been spectacular. In 2018, Smith and Cyrille collaborated with guitarist Bill Frisell on the well received Lebroda for ECM. Lebroda was produced by Sun Chung, who has since set up his own label, Red Hook, from whence comes Two Centuries. On it, Chung has brought Smith and Cyrille together again, this time ...
Continue ReadingWadada Leo Smith: String Quartets Nos. 1-12
by Mark Corroto
Wadada Leo Smith's seven CD boxset String Quartets Nos. 1-12 summons two words, epic and ineffable. The 5½ hours of music chronicle three of his four periods writing for string quartets from 1965 until 2019. The remaining work, “String Quartets Nos. 13, 14, and 15" inspired by the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the US Constitution, although written, have yet to be recorded. Smith's vision is skillfully executed by the RedKoral Quartet—Shalini Vijayan (violin), Mona Tian (violin), Andrew McIntosh ...
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