| America | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 2009 | |||
| Recorded | October 2008 | |||
| Studio | Orange Music, West Orange, New Jersey | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 53:10 | |||
| Label | Tzadik | |||
| Producer | Wadada Leo Smith | |||
| Wadada Leo Smith chronology | ||||
| ||||
America is an album by American jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith and drummer Jack DeJohnette which was recorded in 2008 and released on Tzadik Records. It was their first duo recording, a collaboration originally proposed to ECM in 1979 and rejected. [1]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Tom Hull | B+ [3] |
In his review for AllMusic, Phil Freeman states "The austere stillness at the heart of Smith's music is anchored and emphasized by DeJohnette's powerful mastery of the drum kit, adding up to a record that deserves to be placed alongside Don Cherry and Ed Blackwell's Mu sessions in the avant-jazz pantheon." [2]
The All About Jazz review by Troy Collins notes "Their interplay is measured and precise, neither overwrought nor timid, lending America an air of regal austerity—the sound of two masters engaged in an intimate musical conversation." [4]
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.
Special Edition is an album by American jazz drummer Jack DeJohnette recorded in March 1979 and released on ECM the following year. The quartet features reed players David Murray and Arthur Blythe and bassist and cellist Slip Warren.
Pictures is an album by American jazz drummer composer Jack DeJohnette recorded in February 1976 and released on ECM the following year, featuring DeJohnette playing drums, piano and organ, with guest appearances by guitarist John Abercrombie on "Pictures 3–5".
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.
Voice from the Past – PARADIGM is an album by American jazz bassist Gary Peacock, recorded in August 1981 and released on ECM the following year. The quartet features saxophonist Jan Garbarek, trumpeter Tomasz Stańko, and drummer Jack DeJohnette.
Dark Lady of the Sonnets is an album by American jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, which was recorded in Finland and released in 2011 on the Finnish TUM label.
Ancestors is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, which was released in 2012 on the Finnish TUM label. The album features his first recording with South African drummer Louis Moholo-Moholo, after having explored the trumpet/drums duos on The Blue Mountain's Sun Drummer with Ed Blackwell, Compassion with Adam Rudolph, Wisdom in Time with Günter Sommer and America with Jack DeJohnette.
The Blue Mountain's Sun Drummer is an album by American jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith with drummer Ed Blackwell, a radio broadcast at WBRS recorded live in 1986 at Brandeis University but not issued until 2010 on Smith's own Kabell label.
Procession of the Great Ancestry is an album by American jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith which was recorded in 1983, first released in 1989 on the English Chief label licensed by Nessa Records and reissued in 2009 on Nessa.
The Year of the Elephant is the twenty-fifth studio album by American jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith which was recorded in 2002 and released on Pi Recordings. It was the second recording by his Golden Quartet featuring pianist Anthony Davis, bassist Malachi Favors and drummer Jack DeJohnette.
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.
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.
Tao-Njia is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith which was recorded in 1995 and released on the Tzadik Records' Composer Series.
Golden Quartet is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith which was recorded in 2000 and released on Tzadik Records. It was the debut recording by the eponymous ensemble featuring pianist Anthony Davis, bassist Malachi Favors and drummer Jack DeJohnette.
Red Sulphur Sky is a solo album by American jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith which was recorded in 2001 and released on Tzadik Records.
Kabell Years: 1971–1979 is a four-CD box set released on Tzadik Records compiling American jazz trumpeter/composer/inmproviser Wadada Leo Smith's earliest albums which were originally released on his own, privately pressed label Kabell along with additional previously unissued material from the same era. The set includes the previously released material from Creative Music - 1, Reflectativity, Song of Humanity and Solo Music: Ahkreanvention.
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.
Heart's Reflections is a two-disc studio album by American jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith. The album was released on May 16, 2011 via Cuneiform Records label.
The Great Lakes Suites is a two-disc studio album by American jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith. The album was released on September 16, 2014, via Finnish TUM Records label.
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.