Tao-Njia

Tao-Njia
Studio album by Wadada Leo Smith
Released 1996
Recorded November 17 & December 14, 1995
Capital Recording Studio, Los Angeles, CalArts Studio, Valencia, California
Genre Jazz
Length 43:00
Label Tzadik
Producer Wadada Leo Smith
Wadada Leo Smith chronology
Kulture Jazz (1993) Tao-Njia
(1996)
Golden Hearts Remembrance
(1997)

Tao-Njia is an album by American jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith which was recorded in 1995 and released on the Tzadik Records' Composer Series.

Music

"Another Wave More Waves" is performed by Smith's ensemble N'Da Kulture. "Double Thunderbolt" is a composition in six movements created as a memorial for Don Cherry with poetry by Smith's wife, Harumi Makino Smith. On the title track, the trumpeter is backed by the California E.A.R. Unit, a chamber ensemble conducted by Stephen "Lucky" Mosko.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz[2]
Down Beat[3]

In her review for AllMusic, Joslyn Layne states "Incorporating personal philosophy and beliefs into his compositions through mood and accompanying texts, Smith creates a warm album of spiritual instrumental music."[1]

The Penguin Guide to Jazz notes "Recent years have seen Smith personally and musically involved with Oriental culture, and this is strongly reflected in Tao-Njia. Acoustically, it is one of his most remarkable records, a rich montage of sounds that are at once new and inmediately familiar."[2]

The Down Beat review by John Corbett says "Tao Njia's three pieces are gentle, deceptively spacious compositions loaded with the gestural oomph of a master calligrapher. One might call them 'chamberish,' but that would be to miss their stylistic breadth, their Asian classical overtones and the force of Smith's soloing."[3]

Track listing

All compositions by Wadada Leo Smith
  1. "Another Wave More Waves" - 9:30
  2. "Double Thunderbolt: Memorial for Don Cherry" - 12:14
  3. "Tao-Njia" - 21:16

Personnel

References

  1. 1 2 Layne, Joslyn. Wadada Leo Smith - Tao-Njia: Review at AllMusic. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  2. 1 2 Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2002) [1992]. The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD. The Penguin Guide to Jazz (6th ed.). London: Penguin. p. 1361. ISBN 0-14-051521-6.
  3. 1 2 Corbett, Joihn. Tao Njia review. Down Beat April 97. Print.
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