Wadada Leo Smith's career as a creative musician spans more than forty years. The trumpeter/composer's myriad accomplishments have been well-documented, particularly recently, as his recoding and performance career have undergone a marked renaissance, the success of which has shown a spotlight not only on his recent undertakings, but also inspired a reexamination of his past works.
At age 70, Smith is as busy as he has ever been performing more regularly now than in his youth, composing, leading multiple ensembles, and releasing a regular stream of recordings—with more in the works, including plans to record an expansive work over a decade in the making dedicated to the American civil rights movement.
Franz Matzner spoke with Smith at length, about this work, Freedom Summers: The Defining Moments in the History of the United States of America, and about his many projects, including the Yo Miles! collaborative project that, in conjunction with guitarist Henry Kaiser, paid homage to the groundbreaking electric music of Miles Davis of the 1970s. Despite being dormant for over half a decade, Yo Miles! is back in the public eye with the release of two digital download-only albums. Lightning and Shinjuku (both There Records, 2011), which collect all the original compositions from the group's three studio releases—Yo Miles! (Shanachie, 1998), Sky Garden (Cuneiform, 2004) and Upriver (Cuneiform, 2005)—that dovetailed with expansive and 21st Century versions of Davis' own music, adding previously unreleased live tracks to sweeten the pot and position Yo Miles! as one of the most compelling electric-era tributes to the iconic trumpeter.
Read Franz's in-depth interview, Wadada Leo Smith: The Teacher, published today at All About Jazz. You can also read AAJ Managing Editor John Kelman's insightful look at these two new Yo Miles! releases, Yo Miles! Revisited: Lightning and Shinjuku, also published today.
All About Jazz is committed to bring you the most extensive coverage surrounding new releases anywhere, so be sure to check out all the buzz about Wadada Leo Smith, Yo Miles!, and Lightning and Shinjuku, at All About Jazz today!
At age 70, Smith is as busy as he has ever been performing more regularly now than in his youth, composing, leading multiple ensembles, and releasing a regular stream of recordings—with more in the works, including plans to record an expansive work over a decade in the making dedicated to the American civil rights movement.
Franz Matzner spoke with Smith at length, about this work, Freedom Summers: The Defining Moments in the History of the United States of America, and about his many projects, including the Yo Miles! collaborative project that, in conjunction with guitarist Henry Kaiser, paid homage to the groundbreaking electric music of Miles Davis of the 1970s. Despite being dormant for over half a decade, Yo Miles! is back in the public eye with the release of two digital download-only albums. Lightning and Shinjuku (both There Records, 2011), which collect all the original compositions from the group's three studio releases—Yo Miles! (Shanachie, 1998), Sky Garden (Cuneiform, 2004) and Upriver (Cuneiform, 2005)—that dovetailed with expansive and 21st Century versions of Davis' own music, adding previously unreleased live tracks to sweeten the pot and position Yo Miles! as one of the most compelling electric-era tributes to the iconic trumpeter.
Read Franz's in-depth interview, Wadada Leo Smith: The Teacher, published today at All About Jazz. You can also read AAJ Managing Editor John Kelman's insightful look at these two new Yo Miles! releases, Yo Miles! Revisited: Lightning and Shinjuku, also published today.
All About Jazz is committed to bring you the most extensive coverage surrounding new releases anywhere, so be sure to check out all the buzz about Wadada Leo Smith, Yo Miles!, and Lightning and Shinjuku, at All About Jazz today!
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