Works of Wadada Leo Smith Celebrated at Third CREATE Festival
LIVE, NEWS, WADADA LEO SMITH, HARRIET TUBMAN
By Bill Milkowski I Apr. 10, 2019
“ (…) Smith’s NDA ensemble—minus bass clarinetist-flutist Dwight Andrews, who had an emergency preventing him from attending the gig—delivered the through-composed “Spirituals: The Language Of Love” from bandleader’s 1979 ECM album Divine Love, perfectly balancing exactitude and openness. Vibraphonist Bobby Naughton, who participated in the original recording, brought richly dissonant four-mallet voicings to the table, setting up Smith’s probing trumpet, Eunhye Jeong’s sparsely-appointed piano work, and John Lindberg’s humungous bass tones and virtuosic arco work.
In a dramatic change of pace, Smith shifted to solo trumpet, playing along with a pre-recorded soundtrack of himself and colleagues Lester Bowie and Kenny Wheeler on “Tastalun” from Divine Love. The trumpeter exerted marvelous control in the high register along with segments of circular breathing and bursts of multiphonics on this tightly woven showcase. (…)”