Originally proposed to ECM Records in 1979, the collaboration of trumpeter
Wadada Leo Smith and drummer Jack DeJohnette has finally found new life in
America. Recorded last year in Bill Laswell's New Jersey studio (but without his
heavy-handed production aesthetic), this unadorned acoustic session documents
two of the world's most versatile and virtuosic improvisers working through a
set of six new compositions written by Smith.
Legendary veterans whose seminal innovations can be traced to the late '60s,
Smith was a charter member of the AACM, while DeJohnette served with Miles Davis
during his influential fusion period. Their finely tuned rapport was rekindled
in the company of pianist Anthony Davis and late bassist Malachi Favors in the
first version of Smith's Golden Quartet. Favors passing in 2004 disbanded the
original line-up, leaving their first two albums, Golden Quartet (Tzadik, 2000)
and Year of the Elephant (Pi, 2002) as definitive examples of creative
improvised music for the new century.
Opening with celebratory fanfare, the episodic "America Parts 1, 2, 3" gradually
segues from brassy, martial turbulence into spacious impressionism that quotes
the Dark Prince's "Concierto De Aranjuez" before returning to a climactic vortex
of clarion trumpet calls and frenetic trap set ruminations. "John Brown's Fort"
and "Masnavi: The Falcon and the Owls" spotlight Smith's smeary chromatic
flurries and DeJohnette's ricocheting rhythms while "Red Trumpet" and the
lyrical "Ed Blackwell, the Blue Mountain Sun Drummer" demonstrate their adroit
use of spatial dynamics, as Smith's recoiling lines weave around DeJohnette's
elastic downbeats with nimble dexterity. "Rabi'a's Unconditional Love, a
Spiritual Mystery of the Heart" offers introspective respite, in which Smith's
delicate muted refrains are accompanied by DeJohnette's tastefully spare
accents.
Despite their limited palette, Smith and DeJohnette reveal a wealth of
expressionistic possibilities. Bringing years of experience into play, each
approaches the jazz tradition from opposite ends of the musical spectrum, yet
they make a perfectly balanced pair. Smith's protean timbre and abstruse
cadences are delivered with studied virtuosity, while DeJohnette executes
intricate polyrhythmic fragments and elaborate fills with freewheeling
verve. Exuding a primordial timelessness reminiscent of an extended ritual
invocation, their empathetic dialog surpasses contemporary trends and stylistic
precedents. Their interplay is measured and precise, neither overwrought nor
timid, lending America an air of regal austerity—the sound of two masters
engaged in an intimate musical conversation. - Troy Collins
Tracks
01. America Parts 1, 2, 3
02. Red Trumpet
03. John Brown's Fort
04. Ed Blackwell, the Blue Mountain Sun Drummer
05. Rabi'a's Unconditional Love, a Spiritual Mystery of the Heart
06. Masnavi: The Falcon and the Owls
WADADA LEO SMITH trumpet, flugelhorn (6)
JACK DeJONETTE drums
All compositions by Wadada Leo Smith
Recorded October 2008 at Orange Music
Tzadik – TZ 7628