Vision Festival – Day 1
7pm Open Healing: Albert Ayler | Wadada Leo Smith – trumpet / Pheeroan akLaff – drums 7:20pm Film: Butterfly Silver by Robert Fenz excerpt (4 … Read More “Vision Festival – Day 1”
Reviews
Jazztopad Festival: From Poland, with Swing
The Polish city of Wrocław—population 640,000—doesn’t have a very robust jazz scene, but for 10 days this past November it was transformed into one of … Read More “Jazztopad Festival: From Poland, with Swing”
Wadada Leo Smith: Rosa Parks: Pure Love (TUM)
It is too soon to declare Wadada Leo Smith the Picasso of jazz. Picasso sustained his creative powers and his prolific productivity into his nineties. … Read More “Wadada Leo Smith: Rosa Parks: Pure Love (TUM)”
Andrew Cyrille: Lebroba (ECM)
It is profoundly satisfying to hear drummer Andrew Cyrille—who helped shepherd the tornado of Cecil Taylor through Unit Structures, among many others, more than 50 … Read More “Andrew Cyrille: Lebroba (ECM)”
Wadada Leo Smith: Two New Albums on TUM
Wadada Leo Smith: Solo: Reflections and Meditations on Monk (TUM) Najwa (TUM) Wadada Leo Smith’s solo trumpet tribute to Thelonious Monk evokes two points of … Read More “Wadada Leo Smith: Two New Albums on TUM”
Wadada Leo Smith: America’s National Parks
Trumpeter-composer Wadada Leo Smith’s latest long-form suite, America’s National Parks, unites political engagement with a soul-deep connection to nature. Marshaling his newly expanded Golden Quintet … Read More “Wadada Leo Smith: America’s National Parks”
Montreal International Jazz Festival
Highlights included Kenny Barron Trio, Roberta Gambarini and more
Wadada Leo Smith & John Lindberg: Celestial Weather
Wadada Leo Smith and John Lindberg have performed as a duo over the years, since connecting in the ’70s in Anthony Braxton’s Creative Orchestra, but … Read More “Wadada Leo Smith & John Lindberg: Celestial Weather”
Vijay Iyer/Wadada Leo Smith: a cosmic rhythm with each stroke
a cosmic rhythm with each stroke (ECM) This certainly isn’t the first time Vijay Iyer and Wadada Leo Smith have worked together-their partnership in Smith’s … Read More “Vijay Iyer/Wadada Leo Smith: a cosmic rhythm with each stroke”
Wadada Leo Smith: The Great Lakes Suite
Composer-trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith has set an impossibly high bar for himself recently with a pair of politically trenchant, inventively knotty large ensemble projects, his … Read More “Wadada Leo Smith: The Great Lakes Suite”