Since 2012, Finland's venerable
TUM
label has been releasing new work by
Wadada Leo Smith
. To celebrate his 80th birthday,
is releasing five multi-disc sets of completely unissued work by the artist. The first two include
Sacred Ceremonies
, a series of duos and trios with
Milford Graves
and
Bill Laswell
, and
Trumpet
, a three-disc collection of solo pieces.
Smith
recorded
's 37 pieces at St. Mary's Church in Pojha, Finland over three days. They range from single works for various friends and influences to sprawling, multi-part solo suites. Musically they range across his well-established playing techniques, improvisation, adventurous tonal explorations, and canny, yet unconventional lyricism. The first piece on each disc is a tribute to a core influence in
's iconography. Disc one's "
Albert Ayler
" is uncommonly tender. It touches on
's absorption of
Thelonious Monk
's harmonic ethos -- he quotes from "'Round Midnight" -- but also on the ceremonial aspect of
Ayler
's own deeply spiritual playing. On disc two he employs a mute for "Malik El Shabazz and the People of Shahada" (aka
Malcolm X
) while exploring Eastern tones and modes using silence and breath control as facilitators of expression. On disc three's "Sonic Night - Night Colors (For
Reggie Workman
)," he bridges conventional blues modes with spectral abstraction as clipped tones are folded into one another through measured phrasing. There are also pieces here for former
AACM
collaborators
Steve McCall
,
Leroy Jenkins
Amina Claudine Myers
, as well as the striking "James Baldwin - No Name in the Street; War."
The lion's share of
is composed of suites. The first is a five-part composition entitled "Rashomon," dedicated to
Robert Fenz
, who introduced him to
Akira Kurosawa
's film of that title.
explores a rainbow of tones, textures, and fragmental melodies with consummate use of space. Disc two's "The Great Litany - A Reflective Memory of al-Shadhili" is for an influential 13th century Sufi mystic. Its five parts consider the preparatory stages for Islamic meditation, and the expansive silence that emerges after it.
's use of elongated tones and poignant phrases provides a gateway to the interior via sound. The final disc contains two suites. "Discourses on the Sufi Path" is for Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh, who founded the Numatullahi Sufi order. It offers a ceremonial exploration wherein turbulence and dissonance commingle with harmony and implied solitary reverence. The four-part "Family - A Contemplation of Love" intimately and purposefully examines the four stages of love from origin to return in short pieces using various techniques.
's concluding title piece emerges from the ether to project the meaning of his vocation through his horn in scattered flurries of notes, Spartan single lines, bleating harshness, and truly unconventional beauty. The handsome box is adorned with fine original art, and contains extensive liner notes and photos. Sure,
is for hardcore
fans. That said, virtually anyone who either owns the
Kabell Years
box on
Tzadik
or any of his solo recordings, will find this set illuminating and thoroughly enjoyable. ~ Thom Jurek