Wadada Leo Smith- America´s National Parks (2016) Review

Wadada Leo Smith- America´s National Parks (2016) Review

By: Ghost Writer

In such dark days to listen to such an enlightening approach is truly revolutionary, trumpet maestro Wadada Leo Smith comes last year with a massive work of genius that appears to reaffirm the bright light in the North American skies, the result is a wonderful almost spiritual journey to the sanctuary of North American by the hand of one of the righteous heirs to the jazz trumpet tradition of Miles Davis.

Opener New Orleans carries the right amount of tension and beauty, it's a dirge like with Wadada's great static approach to the front along the brutal drumming of Pheeroan akLaff and John Lindbergh thunderous bass playing, the results are really engaging as Wadada's magic is quickly put into spin, moving fast into beautiful almost elastic melodies full of emotion thanks to Ashley Walters expressive cello, we are confronted with a graceful flowing band moving instinctively behinds Wadada's commanding trumpet, going beyond the world of jazz and landing somewhere somewhere else, becoming almost pure sound and exprsssion, with Wadada's technique put at full display, going up and down and from sublime into the dissonant and submitting at times to Anthony Davis endlessly creative piano lines.

For Eileen Jackson Southern, the experimental nature of the recording becomes even more radical, there is the subtle piano work of Davis followed by the elegant introspection of Wadada delicately piercing darkness, his attack slowly becomes more dissonant, flanked by Walters abrasive cello work here, and a great interplay as the piece moves, by Davis piano playing, akLaff colored drumming and Lindberg intrincated bass playing, while on Yellowstone, as we might expect the approach is epic, massive and almost as cosmic as dramatic, the musical dialog between the players becomes really abstract here, as pure magic is worked and evoked from each member of the quintet playing here, with akLaff and Lindberg as the perfect rock bottom and Davis emotive lines free flowing with grace and passion.

You can't deny the elegant performance at the beggining of The Mississippi River, the preciose and concise arrangements of each Whitney's members, the band is here at their best, letting sound vibrate and breath with overwhelming confidence, and here Wadada lays some of his trumpet lines, his playing is daring, emotive and colorful, every note meaning so much and each note going into the right places, and then right in the middle, after a truly breathtaking moment all hell breaks lose and tell quintet ventures into sonic terrorism with great dynamics and going very close to into the realm of free jazz.

There's undeniable beauty in each piece in this massive offering by Wadada's band, the playing is nevertheless spectacular, arguably one jazz best moments in 2016, this America's National Park show us the genius of Wadada and company, a man that is struggle wisely to become one of the top jazz referents in the USA, a man that despite all the ugliness the year of the Bully has brought us, is capable of showing us greatness and hope, beauty right in the belly of the beast.