Tabligh

Spacey free jazz led by Smith on trumpet and KZSU fave Vijay Iyer on piano. Each track gets into some good ferocious playing, but it's surrounded by restrained, thoughtful exploration. It's got a direct and jazzy sound, yet Iyer spins some gorgeously abstract piano lines (track 2 especially).

Check out the band -- three grizzled veterans, plus Vijay (kind of a testament to his playing level).

Wadada Leo Smith - trumpet
Vijay Iyer - piano
John Lindberg - bass
Shannon Jackson - drums

1- (16:14) Spacey, with gloopy electric piano. Slow start quickly bubbles into a nice jam.
2- (13:53) A swingy, bright composition for the trumpet, with great abstract piano from Iyer, flowing and quick. After a sparse, dark middle stretch, there's a punchy and hard-blowing jam.
3- (8:36) Slow and grand. Works into a fast little piano-trio jam, very nice.
4- (24:34) Floating, adrift, slow, with an interesting bass/piano dialogue. After 8 minutes, it splits into a fast jazzy attack, a little bit spacey, with some hard digging on drums and trumpet. Second half features big booming drums, with a sustained quiet zone around -6:00.