A Cosmic Rhythm with Each Stroke

Last updated
A Cosmic Rhythm with Each Stroke
A Cosmic Rhythm with Each Stroke.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 11, 2016 (2016-03-11)
RecordedOctober 17–19, 2015
Studio Avatar, New York City
Genre Jazz
Length1:06:13
Label ECM ECM 2486
Producer Manfred Eicher
Vijay Iyer chronology
Break Stuff
(2014)
A Cosmic Rhythm with Each Stroke
(2016)
Far from Over
(2017)
Wadada Leo Smith chronology
Celestial Weather
(2015)
A Cosmic Rhythm with Each Stroke
(2015)
America's National Parks
(2016)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 82/100 [1]
Review scores
SourceRating
All Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Pitchfork 8.5/10 [4]
All About Jazz Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [5]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [6]
RTÉ.ie Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]
Blurt Magazine Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [8]
Record Collector Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [9]
Financial Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [10]
Tom Hull B+ [11]

A Cosmic Rhythm with Each Stroke is an album by trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith and pianist Vijay Iyer which was released in March 2016 on ECM Records. [12]

Contents

Reception

At Metacritic, that assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 82, based on seven reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".

Thom Jurek in his review for Allmusic says that:

The instincts these players offer in these works display the duo's mutual desire for intimate communication and spiritual trust through the medium of sound. Their uncompromising movement toward them results in a shared musical mind that speaks in a distinctive, unique emotional language.

"A Cosmic Rhythm with Each Stroke (All Music Review)". All Music . Retrieved August 7, 2017.

They also selected it as one of their Favorite Jazz Albums of 2016. [13]

In The Guardian, John Fordham gave this album four stars and says that:

Smith’s tone and phrasing often reflect mid-period Miles Davis, but he blends free jazz into those resources with a unique poetic focus. Long high squeals and tumbling unfold over Iyer’s humming electronics, a bright brass fanfare soars over a chordal rumble, and a lamenting muted-trumpet descent invokes Sketches of Spain . Iyer mostly functions as a discreet foil, but this intimate conversation swells from interesting to enthralling as it unfolds.

Track listing

ECM Records – ECM 2420. [12]

All music is composed by Vijay Iyer and Wadada Leo Smith, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Passage"Vijay Iyer6:15
2."All Becomes Alive" 9:09
3."The Empty Mind Receives" 4:55
4."Labyrinths" 6:43
5."A Divine Courage" 9:12
6."Uncut Emeralds" 7:43
7."A Cold Fire" 5:55
8."Notes on Water" 7:58
9."Marian Anderson"Wadada Leo Smith8:23
Total length:1:06:13

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wadada Leo Smith</span> American trumpeter and composer

Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vijay Iyer</span> American composer, pianist, bandleader, producer, and writer

Vijay Iyer is an American composer, pianist, bandleader, producer and writer based in New York City. The New York Times has called him a "social conscience, multimedia collaborator, system builder, rhapsodist, historical thinker and multicultural gateway". Iyer received a 2013 MacArthur Fellowship, a Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, a United States Artists Fellowship, a Grammy nomination, and the Alpert Award in the Arts. He was voted Jazz Artist of the Year in the DownBeat magazine international critics' polls in 2012, 2015, 2016, and 2018. In 2014, he received a lifetime appointment as the Franklin D. and Florence Rosenblatt Professor of the Arts at Harvard University, where he was jointly appointed in the Department of Music and the Department of African and African American Studies.

<i>Divine Love</i> (album) 1979 studio album by Leo Smith

Divine Love is an album by American jazz trumpeter and composer Wadada Leo Smith, recorded in September 1978 and released on ECM the following year. The trio features multi-instrumentalists Dwight Andrews and Bobby Naughton, with guest appearances from trumpeters Lester Bowie and Kenny Wheeler on one track and bassist Charlie Haden on another.

<i>Kulture Jazz</i> 1993 studio album by Wadada Leo Smith

Kulture Jazz is a solo album by American jazz trumpeter and composer Wadada Leo Smith, recorded in October 1992 and released on ECM the following year—Smith's second album for the label, following Divine Love (1979).

<i>Ten Freedom Summers</i> 2012 live album and box set by Wadada Leo Smith

Ten Freedom Summers is a four-disc box set by American trumpeter and composer Wadada Leo Smith. It was released on May 5, 2012, by Cuneiform Records. Smith wrote its compositions intermittently over the course of 34 years, beginning in 1977, before performing them live in November 2011 at the Colburn School's Zipper Hall in Los Angeles. He was accompanied by the nine-piece Southwest Chamber Music ensemble and his own jazz quartet, featuring drummers Pheeroan akLaff and Susie Ibarra, pianist Anthony Davis, and bassist John Lindberg.

<i>Mutations</i> (Vijay Iyer album) 2014 studio album by Vijay Iyer

Mutations is a studio album by American jazz pianist Vijay Iyer recorded in September 2013 and released on ECM the following year. The titular suite features a string quartet consisting violinists Michi Wiancko and Miranda Cuckson, violist Kyle Armbrust, and cellist Kivie Cahn-Lipman.

<i>Break Stuff</i> (album) 2015 studio album by Vijay Iyer

Break Stuff is an album by the Vijay Iyer Trio recorded in June 2014 and released on ECM February the following year. The trio features rhythm section Stephan Crump and Marcus Gilmore.

<i>Tirtha</i> (album) 2011 studio album by Vijay Iyer with Prasanna and Nitin Mitta

Tirtha is an album by pianist Vijay Iyer with Prasanna and Nitin Mitta recorded in 2008 and released on the ACT label in 2011.

<i>Solo</i> (Vijay Iyer album) 2010 studio album by Vijay Iyer

Solo is a solo album by pianist Vijay Iyer recorded in 2010 and released on the ACT label.

<i>Saturn, Conjunct the Grand Canyon in a Sweet Embrace</i> 2004 live album by Wadada Leo Smith & Anthony Braxton

Saturn, Conjunct the Grand Canyon in a Sweet Embrace is the second album of a live duo performance by American jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith and reedist Anthony Braxton, which was recorded in 2003 at New York's Tonic club and released on Pi Recordings. This album, along with Organic Resonance, is the first recording dedicated entirely to Wadada and Braxton's duo music.

<i>Tabligh</i> (album) 2008 live album by Wadada Leo Smith

Tabligh is an album by American jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith which was recorded live at the CalArts Creative Music Festival in 2005 and released on Cuneiform. It was the third recording by his Golden Quartet with a new electro-acoustic lineup featuring pianist Vijay Iyer, bassist John Lindberg and drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson.

<i>Spiritual Dimensions</i> 2009 live album by Wadada Leo Smith

Spiritual Dimensions is a double album by American jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith released on Cuneiform. The first disc is the fourth release by his Golden Ensemble, which began as a quartet but here expands into a quintet with two drummers, and was recorded live at the 2008 Vision Festival in New York. The second disc is the first-ever release by Organic, an electric nine-piece band with four guitarists, and was recorded live in 2009 at the jazz club Firehouse 12 in New Haven, Connecticut.

<i>Americas National Parks</i> 2016 studio album by Wadada Leo Smith

America's National Parks is a two-disc studio album by American jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith.

<i>Red Hill</i> (album) 2014 studio album by Wadada Leo Smith, Jamie Saft, Joe Morris and Balázs Pándi

Red Hill is an album by trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, keyboardist Jamie Saft, bassist Joe Morris and drummer Balázs Pándi which was released on the RareNoise label in 2014.

<i>Far from Over</i> (Vijay Iyer album) 2017 studio album by Vijay Iyer

Far from Over is a studio album by the Vijay Iyer Sextet recorded in April 2017 and released on ECM August that same year. The sextet features brass section Graham Haynes, Steve Lehman and Mark Shim and rhythm section Stephan Crump and Tyshawn Sorey.

<i>Solo: Reflections and Meditations on Monk</i> 2017 studio album by Wadada Leo Smith

Solo: Reflections and Meditations on Monk is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith. The album was recorded in Finland and released on October 20, 2017 via Finnish TUM Records label. The album contains five tracks written by Thelonious Monk, and three by Smith.

<i>Lebroba</i> 2018 studio album by Andrew Cyrille

Lebroba is an album by drummer Andrew Cyrille recorded in July 2017 and released on ECM November the following year. The trio features guitarist Bill Frisell and trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith. "Lebroba" is an abbreviation of Leland/Brooklyn/Baltimore, the trio's respective hometowns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 in jazz</span> Overview of the events of 2021 in jazz

This is a timeline documenting events of jazz in the year 2021.

<i>Uneasy</i> (album) 2021 studio album by Vijay Iyer

Uneasy is an album by American pianist and composer Vijay Iyer recorded in December 2019 and released on ECM in April 2021. The trio features rhythm section Linda May Han Oh and Tyshawn Sorey.

<i>Sacred Ceremonies</i> 2021 studio album by Wadada Leo Smith with Milford Graves and Bill Laswell

Sacred Ceremonies is a three-CD box set album by trumpeter and composer Wadada Leo Smith on which he is joined by drummer Milford Graves and electric bassist Bill Laswell. Disc one was recorded on May 27, 2016, and features Smith and Graves in duo format. Disc two was recorded on May 26, 2016, and features Smith and Laswell. The entire trio is heard on disc three, which was recorded on December 11 and 12, 2015. All three discs were recorded at Orange Music Sound Studios in West Orange, New Jersey. The album was released by TUM Records in 2021.

References

  1. "A Cosmic Rhythm with Each Stroke (Metacritic page)". Metacritic . Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  2. "A Cosmic Rhythm with Each Stroke (All Music Review)". All Music . Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  3. "A Cosmic Rhythm with Each Stroke (The Guardian Review)". The Guardian . Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  4. Walls, Seth Colter (March 23, 2016). "Vijay IyerWadada Leo Smith: A Cosmic Rhythm With Each Stroke". Pitchfork. pitchfork.com . Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  5. Ackermann, Karl (March 9, 2016). "Vijay Iyer & Wadada Leo Smith: A Cosmic Rhythm With Each Stroke". All About Jazz . allaboutjazz.com. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  6. Fordham, John (17 March 2016). "Vijay Iyer/Wadada Leo Smith: A Cosmic Rhythm With Each Stroke review – charismatic and subtle". The Guardian . theguardian.com. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  7. Kehoe, Paddy (13 December 2016). "Iyer/Smith - a cosmic rhythm with each stroke". RTE. RTÉ.ie . Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  8. Toland, Michael (25 March 2016). "VIJAY IVER & WADADA LEO SMITH – A Cosmic Rhythm With Each Stroke". Blurt Magazine . blurtonline.com. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  9. Waring, Charles. "A Rhythm With Each Stroke (***ECM)". Record Collector . recordcollectormag.com. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  10. Hobart, Mike (April 1, 2016). "Vijay Iyer/Wadada Leo Smith: A Cosmic Rhythm with Each Stroke — review". Financial Times . Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  11. Hull, Tom. "Tom Hull: Grade List: Vijay Iyer". tomhull.com . Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  12. 1 2 "Vijay Iyer / Wadada Leo Smith A Cosmic Rhythm with Each Stroke". ECM Records. Archived from the original on August 7, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  13. "Allmusic Favorite Jazz Albums of 2016".