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Wadada Leo Smith: Najwa
by Maurizio Comandini
Il trombettista Wadada Leo Smith chiama a raccolta i suoi fedelissimi per una nuova scorribanda nei territori dell'emozione, con la sua tromba spiritata che guida il cammino con saggezza e ferma determinazione, tracciando le linee guida attraverso le quali poi tutti i musicisti saranno chiamati a dare il proprio ampio contributo nella tessitura narrativa dei cinque brani originali che compongono questo ottimo Najwa. Composizioni tutte firmate dal settantaseienne trombettista di Leland, Mississippi. Ritroviamo con piacere al fianco di Wadada i ...
Continue ReadingIl meglio del 2017 secondo Nicola Negri
by Nicola Negri
Un altro anno di musica straordinaria: dodici dischi (e una manciata di concerti memorabili) per riflettere sul 2017 appena concluso. Maestri come Wadada Leo Smith e Roscoe Mitchell continuano a stupire per coraggio e coerenza; Nicole Mitchell e Satoko Fujii si confermano musiciste e compositrici di valore assoluto; si delineano nuove prospettive grazie a Irreversible Entanglements, Hear in Now, Lisa Mezzacappa, Miles Okazaki; The Necks e Sexmob ripropongono formule consolidate eppure sempre appassionanti; la libera improvvisazione supera ogni confine con ...
Continue ReadingSolo: Reflections and Meditations on Monk & Najwa
by Doug Collette
Wadada Leo Smith's most recently recorded albums reaffirm this trumpeter/composer/bandleader's deep, abiding loyalty to his muse. Equally so on stage or in the studio, Smith's devotion to the creative impulse is absolutely unwavering, and, as a result, his works are pure, direct expressions of his concepts, undiluted by compromise. Such is the uniformity of his execution that Smith can take diverse approaches as represented by these two TUM records, one of which is a solo album in homage to Thelonious ...
Continue ReadingKarl Ackermann's Best Releases of 2017
by Karl Ackermann
2017 was an exceptional year for artists who elude convention; veterans such as Wadada Leo Smith and relative newcomers like Abdul Moimême gave us unique musical insights. It was an outstanding year for solo recordings. Along with Smith and Moimême, Rob Mazurek, Matthew Shipp, Irish multi-instrumentalist Aine O'Dwyer, Cuban pianist Aruán Ortiz, Italian pianist Stefano Battaglia, and Satoko Fujii were just a few of the creative artists that gave life to singular global perspectives. (Selections are not ranked.)
Continue ReadingWadada Leo Smith: Solo: Reflections and Meditations on Monk
by Mark Corroto
The most fitting tribute to Thelonious Monk on the 100th anniversary of his birth was not by a pianist, but by a trumpeter, and not any ordinary trumpeter. Wadada Leo Smith, like Monk, is a musician's musician. While his peers have seemingly always investigated his music, it took the listening audience (and, ahem, critics) awhile to catch up on his music. After his Pulitzer Prize nomination in 2013, for Ten Freedom Summers (Cuneiform, 2012), the proverbial flood gates opened on ...
Continue ReadingWadada Leo Smith: Najwa
by John Sharpe
Trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith is no stranger to plugged-in performance. Like Ornette Coleman and Miles Davis, his musical systems prove just as applicable to electronic as to all-acoustic environments. Indeed one of Smith's earliest such immersions was Yo Miles! inspired by Miles' 1970s guitar shredding bands. Multiple electric strings have also formed an integral part of his Organic ensemble, as heard on Spiritual Dimensions (Cuneiform, 2009) and Heart's Reflections (Cuneiform, 2011). So Najwa with its quartet of electric guitarists fits ...
Continue ReadingWadada Leo Smith: Najwa
by Jerome Wilson
Wadada Leo Smith has been on an amazingly productive streak the last few years, creating ambitious work for all kinds of configurations, large orchestras, string ensembles, quartets, duos and solo. About the only format he hadn't explored lately was the dense electronic jazz-rock he's played in the past with his groups Organic and Yo! Miles. With Najwa he finally returns to that format, heading a group featuring four guitarists, two percussionists, his own trumpet and the weighty bass guitar of ...
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