Smith, Wadada Leo
TUM, 2017, CD
Instrument: Trumpet
Issue: 23.3
Jazz Ruler Type: Fusion
Performance: 4
Sound: 3
Score: 59
O’s Notes: Wadada Leo Smith plays without boundaries while rallying his team for a successful engagement on“Najwa. There are four guitarists, with a drummer, percussionist and the venerable Bill Laswell on bass. They open with the racy free fusion of “Ornette Coleman’s Harmelodic Sonic Hierographic Forms: A Resonance Change In The Millennium” before slowing down the pace for the title track. The sheer madness of free form is tempered by an approach that is centered on melodic themes in a way that makes musical sense! The soloist carries an orderly theme as the accompaniment dances randomly while staying in the same zip code. Five well-developed selections leave us feeling satisfied and looking for a replay.
Publicist: Braithwaite & Katz
