Smith, Wadada Leo / Ten Freedom Summers
Album: Ten Freedom Summers   Collection:Jazz
Artist:Smith, Wadada Leo   Added:Aug 2012
Label:Cuneiform Records  

A-File Activity
Add Date: 2012-08-12 Pull Date: 2012-10-14 Charts: Jazz
Week Ending: Oct 14 Oct 7 Sep 30 Sep 2 Aug 26 Aug 19
Airplays: 1 1 1 2 1 2

Recent Airplay
1. Jan 22, 2018: In Your Ear Radio - Rolling Out of Slumberland into Radioland
America, Parts 1, 2 & 3
4. Dec 18, 2017: In Your Ear Radio - birthYaY!, Wadada!
The Freedom Riders Ride, Rosa Parks And The Montgomery Bus Boycott, 381 Days, Dred Scott: 1857
2. Jan 15, 2018: In Your Ear Radio - Thank You MLK!
Martin Luther King, Jr.: Memphis, The Prophecy, Freedom Summer: Voter Registration, Acts Of Compassion And Empowerment, 1964, Black Church, Rosa Parks And The Montgomery Bus Boycott, 381 Days
5. Oct 11, 2012: Love Den
Malik Al Shabazz And The People Of The Shahada
3. Dec 30, 2017: In Your Ear Radio - A New Year, Here We Come 2018! Pt. 2
Dred Scott: 1857
6. Oct 05, 2012: No Cover, No Minimum
Democracy

Album Review
Fo
Reviewed 2012-08-11
WADADA LEO SMITH: Ten Freedom Summers
Cuneiform, 2012

AVANT-GARDE – Trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith presents his magnum opus, a deep, huge, powerful collection of 19 pieces composed over a 34-year span. The work commemorates the heroes and milestones of the black civil rights movement, from the age of slavery to the present. Smith’s Golden Quartet and Quintet are joined by/alternate with Southwest Chamber Music, a nine-member modern classical ensemble. Smith’s horn is either hot and slicing or calm and chilly against heavy two-drummer surges or tense group improvisation, and the chamber sections can be somber, aching or spiky. You can go to any point in these four CDs and find something of value. Just listen.

Fo’s Picks: I – 1,2 II – 1,2,3 III – 2,4,5 IV – 1,2,4

DISC ONE

1. 11:49 – quintet: trumpet cuts thru turbulent chaos, very strong piano as well
2. 5:15 – quiet quintet: serene trumpet, lots of space, bowed bass solo
3. 18:03 – a mix of mournful and defiant, slowly paced with aching strings
4. 15:06 – a slow & bluesy march; trumpet soars, quintet falls to near-silence
5. 22:08 – chamber ensemble: juxtaposes rhythmic drama & pained harmony

DISC TWO

1. 12:44 – quartet: spiritual intro, then struggle and firm resolve, serene end
2. 16:36 – chamber ensemble: moving string layers, thrusts, dissonant slides
3. 12:35 – quintet: very open feel, picks up walking rhythm, fine piano & drums
4. 24:13 – chamber ensemble: rises from below, a series of striking tableaux

DISC THREE

1. 16:41 – quartet: rising optimism, chaos, emptiness; solos for everybody
2. 10:07 – chamber ensemble: alternately tender and knotty/convoluted
3. 12:18 – stark quartet: acid trumpet, lots of silent moments
4. 15:04 – quartet: strong bass, open improv sprawl, quiet, huge drum solo
5. 13:50 – full group goes all over: stark layers, dark shades, clashing rhythms

DISC FOUR

1. 14:11 – quartet: forceful w/heavy drums, tender middle section, back to start
2. 9:39 – slow and solemn with forceful trumpet, switches to a spiritual feel
3. 8:36 – quintet: trumpet thrusts boldly forward over amorphous backing
4. 14:31 – quintet: solid improv feel, a sarcastic sneer, strong performances
5. 20:35 – full group: a sprawling, imposing modernistic suite unto itself; heavy

[ Fo ] - 11 August 2012

Track Listing
1. Dred Scott: 1857   10. The Freedom Riders Ride
2. Malik Al Shabazz And The People Of The Shahada   11. Medgar Evers: A Love-Voice Of A Thousand Years' Journey For Liberty And Justice
3. Emmett Till: Defiant, Fearless   12. The D.C. Wall: A War Memorial For All Times
4. Thurgood Marshall And Brown Vs. Board Of Education: A Dream Of Equal Education,   13. Buzzsaw: The Myth Of A Free Press
5. John F. Kennedy's New Frontier And The Space Age, 1960   14. The Little Rock Nine: A Force For Desegregation In Education, 1957
6. Rosa Parks And The Montgomery Bus Boycott, 381 Days   15. America, Parts 1, 2 & 3
7. Black Church   16. September 11th, 2001: A Memorial
8. Freedom Summer: Voter Registration, Acts Of Compassion And Empowerment, 1964   17. Fannie Lou Hamer And The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, 1964
9. Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society And The Civil Rights Act Of 1964   18. Democracy
  19. Martin Luther King, Jr.: Memphis, The Prophecy