Matt “Tracing back to Wadada Leo Smith’s most recent epic masterpieces, The Great Lakes Suites and especially Ten Freedom Summers” ( excerpt from the album’s notes) concerning the double album “America’s National Parks” construction and contents”. Wadada has changed how he does musical writing and notations with his theory of Ankhrasmation which uses a set of four colours and depending where they are positioned on the chart, left or right being slow or fast with six rhythm units included that start long and then become short with the cover for his album “Sonic Rivers” showing one example of this type of intonations and how “America’s National Park” was composed with the orchestra having a fixed bound input and the soloist free to go where he wants. The ensemble that was used for the album was Wadada’s Golden Quintet which has had quite a change in its line up throughout the years with this current one containing Anthony Davis on piano, Ashley Walters, cello, His old cohort John Lindberg on bass, Pheeroan akLaff, drumming and of course Wadada on trumpet as well as directing the ensemble. One other mention is Jesse Gilbert being a video artist as when the pieces were recorded film was running in front of the ensemble for each National Park pertaining to which piece was being played for it. Although not technically Free Jazz it does have on the album an element of it concerning the soloists.

“New Orleans: The National Culture Park USA 1718” opens being a 21 minute in length composition with Pheeroan akLaff drum’s and Wadada’s trumpet commencing proceedings and the band following in fairly quickly as the music seems to be slowly getting stretched with more and more extensions from the trumpet and Anthony Davis’ piano becoming gradually more complex with the cello seemingly being pushed more to the front but the music does change when Davis’s piano returns with quite a lovely complex solo of varying times and then John Lindberg gets pushed to the front on bass for a delightful bass solo and input which gradually is moved out of the way for Ashley Davis on cello to have a shot with Wadada coming back to close things up. There are two other compositions Eileen Jackson Southern, 1920-2002; A Literary National Park” and “Yellowstone: The First National Park and The Sprit of America- The Mountains, Super-Volcano Caldera and Its Ecosystem 1872” following and although “Eileen Jackson Southern” not being quite as dramatic in sound as “Yellowstone” but that does not mean “Yellowstone” is bombastic either with its gradual opening containing seemingly more space than the prior composition. and I love Anthony’s piano solo within.

Disc 2: Three more suites are included opening “The Mississippi River: Dark and Deep Dreams Flow The River-a National Memorial Park c. 5000 BC and as the first on Disc 1 it is the longest track running for 31 minutes with each musician having quite an individual input and often in short bursts entirely alone within the composition often punctuated with sharp trumpet interjections from Wadada but you could not name it as call and response either for this extremely interesting number where later into the composition Anthony Davis is playing the same four notes repetitively with Wadada’s trumpet just soaring in bursts with more change still to come within. “Sequoia/Kings Canyon national Parks: The Giant forest, Great Canyon, Cliffs, Peaks, Waterfalls and Cave systems 1890” having the longest title is actually the shortest track with piano and trumpet and plenty of space brought to the fore with the album finishing up with the majestic “Yosemite: The Glaciers, the Falls, the wells and the Valley of Goodwill 1890”

Highly original and interesting album which won awards in 2017. Although it is about the Parks, the politics concerning them played just as big a part in the album’s compositions and one would be going to find anything even close to similar in releases unless Wadada did it himself. Getting a bit tired with Bop, Third Stream, Fusion and Avante Garde well try this one for something refreshingly different.

Matt Variety seems to be the key with the latest batch of releases from Wadada Leo Smith with “Najwa” continuing that mode in an exceptional manner. The prior album “ America’s National Parks” played by Wadada’s Golden Quintet was quite an outstanding effort and deservingly so, being highly regarded after the double album’s release last year in 2016. “Najwa” is quite a different beast being Fusion but this is not Miles Davis or The Mahavishnu Orchestra albeit there are elements contained but due to Bill Laswell’s presence on the album playing electric bass, providing the Mix and the addition of four Electric Guitarists, we are veering just as close to Praxis and Material.

Jazz though is still the key “Ornette Coleman’s Harmolodic Sonic Hierograhic Forms: A Reasonance Change In The Millennium” is performed as a suite with varying times and some stunning trumpet from Wadada in conjunction with the guitarists providing quite a diverse sound with their input but Bill Laswell’s bass is grumbling and booming in the distinct manner that he play’s right along with them. Track 3 “Najwa” is a short dreamy piece. I have to admit when I first saw the title for the next track “Ronald Shannon Jackson: The Master of Symphonic Drumming and Multi Sonic Rhythms, Inscription of a Rare Beauty” I was ready for long percussion pieces but not so, although drum driven there is plenty addition from the band with some great guitar work injected with Wadada’s trumpet thankfully. “The Empress, Lady Day: In a Rainbow Garden, with Yellow-Gold Hot Springs, Surrounded by Exotic Plants and Flowers” finishes the album up in a contemplative manner with pieces from the various musicians floating across an ambient ether that only Bill Laswell could Mix. Track 2 the dedication to John Coltrane has the same high standard.

Matt Solo trumpet sounds a bit dicey but Wadada Leo Smith pulls it of beautifully. I noticed the selections are more towards Monk's slower tempo compositions which seemed to be a wise choice for this concept. Three of the compositions are Wadada's own with the rest being Monk's. Having the music stripped to just solo trumpet it is often the fragments of the tunes whilst being played that just drift the melodies in

"Ruby My Dear", "Crepuscule with Nellie", "Round Midnight" and the not often played early comp "Reflections" are outstanding in their interpretation but that is not to say that Wadada's compositions are any less either bringing quite an interesting balance to the album with perhaps "Monk and His Five Point Ring At The Five Spot Cafe" which gives a nudge to Monk's most renowned Live album, "Thelonious in Action" being my pick.

If you know your Monk you should love hearing these masterful echoes provided my Smith's solo trumpet throughout but if you don't grab a copy of "Monk's Music" and "Genius Of Modern Music Volume 1" where the majority of the original compositions performed by Smith on this recording lay and work from there to gain a better grip and understanding to where Wadada is coming from with the concept to this album. Beautiful and different stuff

snobb Finnish TUM label is a home for US giant trumpeter and composer Wadada Leo Smith most significant European recordings,mostly all monumental by form and size (incl. some double-CD studio releases). Smith's most current music isn't easy accessible,but is uniquely deep and represents one of the best modern creative genres borders crossing jazz around.

Wadada's newest TUM release isn't another monumental work as we could expect though. "Celestial Weather" is a collection of bare-naked minimalist duets with Smith' regular acoustic bassist John Lindberg, all duo's originals.

Divided to three parts, "Celestial Weather" demonstrates another side of Wadada - with same bassist he plays for decades Wadada feels very comfortable on almost chamber pre-composed pieces and very free-improvisational songs.

Recorded just by trumpeter and double bassist duo,this album is surprisingly filled with music. Sounds are clear and often quite ascetic,but it is not an album where nothing happens or where silence is a big part of recorded sound. It is quite different from Smith more bombastic works and probably not every fan of Great Lakes Suites or Ten Freedom Summers will like "Celestial Weather", but in on its own way this new release is a really important example of Wadada's creative legacy.

snobb One of Chicago avant-garde jazz icon, Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) early member (from 1967),composer & musical theorist,trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith during last decade enjoys exclusive attention from advanced jazz and contemporary music fans. Only during last five years he released twelve new albums(including three double and one 4xCD set),all of good or excellent quality. His last year's "Great Lakes Suites"(TUM Records) is one of most often mentioned advanced albums in all possible 2014 year's top lists.

Bassist,sound experimenter and producer Bill Laswell is not less known person in the world of adventurous music. He is one of most respectable musicians in the field of jazz / improvisation related dub, has long lasting history collaborating with John Zorn and other New York down town leading artists.

Smith/Laswell live duo album, recorded during Laswell's residence in New York's The Stone in 2014,can easily slip unnoticed even by attentive fans since it's released as digital file only on Laswell's own M.O.D. Technologies label. It would be a real loss since it contains really great music.

Quite surprisingly for music,recorded and produced by Laswell, this one 38-minutes long composition doesn't contain many electronics and recording studio technological tricks.What we have here is liquid dark Laswell ambient bass pulsation and Wadada's fantastic trumpet piercing over it. Music is dark but far not depressive, even spacious, and all long musical piece somehow recalls Wadada's "The Great Lakes Suite". Same nature's monumental greatness, same almost pathetic simplicity,just in more minimalist form.For my great surprise two excellent but very different artists sound absolutely organic here presenting gorgeous music which is accessible and have a high lasting impact.

This release should not be missed by anyone who enjoyed Wadada's "Suites..." as well as anyone,interested in modern cross-genre advanced music.