Monday, August 9, 2021

Wadada Leo Smith 80

(Photo: Maurice Robertson)

By Stef Gijssels

I do not think that any musician has received more 5-star ratings on our blog than Wadada Leo Smith. The trumpeter, born in 1941 in Leland, Mississippi, turns 80 by December of this year. For this occasion, several new albums will be released this year, and they will be reviewed in the coming days. 

From the very start of his career, Smith has worked on his very personal journey into creativity, into the act of musical creation, not only as a composer, but also conceptually. His very first album is even called "Creative Music". In various interviews he has rejected musical styles and categories such as 'improvised' music, or 'free jazz'. In his opinion, there is just music. He even wrote his view on music several years ago. 

I quote a short passage from it: 

"The creative artists have always strived to make the world a better place through their ideas and music performances, serving all people. Creative music and the arts are for everyone and most specifically those who can and will make the effort to confront themselves in a direct search for truth. And because of their efforts, those people live adventurously in their discoveries of themselves and the secrets of life.

What we discover is right in front of us, and also enclosed inside of our hearts, just waiting for us to realize and accept our presence on this planet.

What defines all of us as human beings is the inspiration and knowledge to make coherent choices, informed through science, art, and authentic spiritual practice to develop a genuine care for others and the world we live in.

What we discover is right in front of us, and also enclosed inside of our hearts, just waiting for us to realize and accept our presence on this planet.

What defines all of us as human beings is the inspiration and knowledge to make coherent choices, informed through science, art, and authentic spiritual practice to develop a genuine care for others and the world we live in."

Interested readers can be referred to the review that David Menestres wrote about Smith's own publication. 

This humanistic and spiritual aspect of Smith's creative work has been present in all the diverse musical performances he made: whether the very spiritual solo performances, the energetic Miles Davis tributes, the complex compositions with his Golden Quartet, the duets with other stellar artists, or his ensemble pieces on which modern classical music, jazz and chamber music all merge into something new, the artist remains true to himself, authentic in his voice, intent and emotional power. He is a searcher for truth, and that should be taken almost literally: how to make music that is true in its essence, devoid of anything that can be considered as fake or false (pretense, arrogance, showmanship, commercial interests, shallowness, superficiality, music as a commodity, ...). It also means in the best buddhist sense to lose all expectations of the ego, letting go of the actual self, in the hope that the relationship between sound and universe is immediate and direct. 

Interested readers can find a long biography of Smith on the TUM website. 

Here is an overview of all the reviews we wrote about Wadada Leo Smith's music, mostly as a leader, and a few as a guest musician, listed from the most recent to the beginning of our blog in 2007. For no less than 15 albums he received a 5-star rating (and not only by me!), which is exceptional by any standard. 


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1 comment:

Tony Simon said...

Woo, so many excellent works of his that I haven't yet listened to. Thank you for pointing the way!

August 10, 2021 at 4:38 AM

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