• Source: Wadada Leo Smith

Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith (born December 18, 1941) is an American trumpeter and composer, working primarily in the field of creative music. He was one of three finalists for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Music for Ten Freedom Summers, released on May 22, 2012.




Biography


Smith was born in Leland, Mississippi, United States. He started out playing drums, mellophone, and French horn before he settled on the trumpet. He played in various R&B groups and, by 1967, became a member of the AACM and co-founded the Creative Construction Company, a trio with Leroy Jenkins and Anthony Braxton. In 1971, Smith formed his own label, Kabell. He also formed another band, the New Dalta Ahkri, with members including Henry Threadgill, Anthony Davis and Oliver Lake.
In the 1970s, Smith studied ethnomusicology at Wesleyan University. He played again with Anthony Braxton, as well as recording with Derek Bailey's Company. In the mid-1980s, Smith became Rastafarian and began using the name Wadada. In 1993, he began teaching at Cal Arts, a position he held until 2014. In addition to trumpet and flugelhorn, Smith plays several world music instruments, including the koto, kalimba, and atenteben (Ghanaian bamboo flute). He has also taught courses in instrument making. His compositions often use a graphic notation system he calls "Ankhrasmation", which he developed in 1970.
In 1998, Smith and guitarist Henry Kaiser released Yo, Miles!, a tribute to Miles Davis's then-lesser-known 1970s electric period. On this album, Smith, Kaiser and a large cast of musicians recorded cover versions and original compositions inspired by Miles's electric music. The follow-ups Sky Garden (released by Cuneiform in 2004) and Upriver (released in 2005) were recorded with a different cast of musicians. Both line-ups featured Michael Manring on bass.
Smith's Golden Quartet (with which he has released several albums) originally featured Jack DeJohnette on drums, Anthony Davis on keyboards, and Malachi Favors on bass. After several iterations, the Golden Quartet now features Pheeroan akLaff on drums, John Lindberg on bass, and Davis on piano.
During the 2000s, Smith recorded albums for John Zorn's label Tzadik, as well as Pi Recordings. In 2008, he and his Golden Quartet released a DVD entitled Freedom Now.
Smith has lived in New Haven, Connecticut for many years, a city where he helped create a prominent culture for creative music.




Discography






= As leader/co-leader

=




= Compilations

=
Kabell Years: 1971–1979 (Tzadik, 2004) – collects Creative Music – 1, Reflectativity, Song of Humanity, and Solo Music: Ahkreanvention along with additional material




= As sideman

=
With Muhal Richard Abrams

Young at Heart/Wise in Time (Delmark, 1974)
With Marion Brown

Geechee Recollections (Impulse!, 1973)
With Anthony Braxton

3 Compositions of New Jazz (Delmark, 1968)
Silence (Freedom, 1969 [1975]) with Leroy Jenkins
Anthony Braxton (BYG Actuel, 1969)
This Time... (BYG Actuel, 1970)
Trio and Duet (Sackville, 1974)
Creative Orchestra Music 1976 (Arista, 1976)
Creative Orchestra (Köln) 1978 (hatART, 1978 [1995])
With Creative Construction Company

Creative Construction Company (Muse, 1970 [1975])
Creative Construction Company Vol. II (Muse, 1970 [1976])
With Andrew Cyrille

Lebroba (ECM, 2018)
With Leroy Jenkins

For Players Only (JCOA Records, 1975)
With Henry Kaiser

Yo, Miles! (Shanachie, 1998)
Sky Garden (Cuneiform, 2004)
Upriver (Cuneiform, 2004)
With Bill Laswell

The stone (2014)
With Frank Lowe

The Flam (Black Saint, 1975)
With Maurice McIntyre

Humility in the Light of the Creator (Delmark, 1969)
With Roscoe Mitchell

Sketches from Bamboo (Moers Music, 1979)
With Matthew Shipp

New Orbit (Thirsty Ear, 2001)
With Spring Heel Jack

The Sweetness of the Water (Thirsty Ear, 2004)
Hackney Road (Treader, 2018) with Pat Thomas and Steve Noble
With John Zorn

50th Birthday Celebration Volume 8 (Tzadik, 2003)
The Unknown Masada (Tzadik, 2003)




References






External links


Wadada Leo Smith at AllMusic Wadada Leo Smith on Bandcamp Wadada Leo Smith discography at Discogs Wadada Leo Smith discography at MusicBrainz
Official website
short film portrait on Wadada Leo Smith, his art and his work with ECM Records
Wadada Leo Smith by John Corbett—BOMB Magazine
A Fireside Chat With Wadada Leo Smith by Fred Jung Posted: 2003-11-29
Henry Kaiser & Wadada Leo Smith – Sky Garden (Review) – Published in The Music Box, July 2004, Vol. 11, No. 7
FMP releases
Art of the States: Wadada Leo Smith Bardsdale (1997–1998)
Tawaf Archived 2005-12-28 at the Wayback Machine from 2003's "Organic Resonance" on Pi Recordings
Solo performance, July 2000 at SASSAS sound. concert archives
"Wadada Leo Smith: The OFN Interview" by Matthew Sumera: April and June 2005
"Ep. 99: Wadada Leo Smith, trumpeter and composer" by Tigran Arakelyan: May 20, 2020

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Jack DeJohnette
• Wadada Leo Smith
• Ancestors (Wadada Leo Smith album)
• America (Wadada Leo Smith album)
• Compassion (Wadada Leo Smith album)
• Steve Smith (drummer)
• Sacred Ceremonies
• Henry Kaiser (musician)
• Ten Freedom Summers
• Pulitzer Prize for Music
• America's National Parks (album)