| Dark Lady of the Sonnets | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 2011 | |||
| Recorded | January 24 & 25, 2007 | |||
| Studio | SoundTeam Godzinsky Studio, Kirkkonummi | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 55:56 | |||
| Label | TUM Records | |||
| Producer | Wadada Leo Smith | |||
| Wadada Leo Smith chronology | ||||
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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.
Smith leads the band Mbira, an ensemble dedicated to realizing a spiritual music inspired by the mystical nature of the Mbira music, a tradition of the Shona people of Zimbabwe, but with a creative contextualization in the contemporary music language. [1] Mbira is a trio composed of Smith on trumpet and flugelhorn, Chinese pipa player Min Xiao-Fen, who has collaborated with avant-garde musicians such as Derek Bailey and John Zorn, and drummer Pheeroan akLaff, who has played with Smith since the mid-seventies.
The album includes five thematic suites composed specifically for this trio. "Sarah Bell Wallace" was written as a memorial for Smith's mother. The title track is a tribute to singer Billie Holiday inspired by a prose poem with the same title composed by Amiri Baraka. [1] This poem itself takes its title from the unidentified 'Dark Lady', who is the subject of many of Shakespeare's sonnets.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Tom Hull | B+ [3] |
In his review for AllMusic, Thom Jurek states "Dark Lady of the Sonnets proves that at 70, Smith has an entire world of sound at his disposal and continues, in a uniquely creative language, to display it seemingly at will." [2] The All About Jazz review by Dave Wayne says "For the musically adventurous, Dark Lady of the Sonnets is a veritable feast of soulful new sounds, poignantly emotional expressions, and interesting textures from three master musicians who really hear each other on a profound level." [4] In another review for All About Jazz Eyal Hareuveni claims "A masterpiece, from beginning to end." [5]
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.
Pheeroan akLaff is an American jazz drummer and percussionist. He began playing in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan and Ann Arbor, with R & B keyboardist Travis Biggs, funk keyboardist Nimrod “The Grinder” Lumpkin, The Ebony Set and The Last Days. He moved to New Haven, Connecticut, and formed a group with saxophonist/flautist/percussionist Dwight Andrews. He debuted with saxophonist Bill Barron in 1975, followed by a tenure in Leo Smith's ‘New Dalta Ahkri’ (1977-1979).
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.
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.
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.
Spirit Catcher is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, recorded in 1979 and released on Nessa Records.
Song of Humanity is an album by American jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith with the ensemble New Dalta Akhri, which was recorded live at The Gallery, New Haven, and released in 1977 on his own Kabell label. The album was reissued in 2004 as part of the four-CD box Kabell Years: 1971-1979 on John Zorn's imprint Tzadik.
Golden Hearts Remembrance is an album by American jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith which was recorded in 1997 and released on the Japanese Chap Chap label. He leads the ensemble N'Da Kulture, a sextet that blends jazz with Eastern music and the poetry of Smith's wife, Harumi Makino Smith.
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.
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.
Reflectativity is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith which was recorded in 2000 and released by Tzadik Records. The album is an extended remake of a recording Smith released on his own label in 1975. This new version features a trio with pianist Anthony Davis and bassist Malachi Favors.
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.
America's National Parks is a two-disc studio album by American jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith.
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.
Touch the Earth is an album by a free jazz trio consisting of American trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, German bassist Peter Kowald and German drummer Günter Sommer, which was recorded live in 1979 and released on the German FMP label. It was reissued on CD in a compilation titled Touch the Earth—Break the Shells, with some tracks from If You Want the Kernels You Have to Break the Shells, another album by the same trio.
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.
Occupy the World is a two-disc studio album by American jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith recorded with Finnish orchestra Tumo. The album was recorded in Helsinki and released on June 18, 2013 via Finnish TUM Records label.
Budding of a Rose is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith with a large ensemble. The album was recorded in Paris, following a radio performance the day before, and released in 1979 via German Moers Music label.
Shadows and Reflections is an album by trumpeter and composer Baikida Carroll. It was recorded on January 13 and 20, 1982, at Sound House Studio in Newburgh, New York, and was released on vinyl later that year by Soul Note. On the album, Carroll is joined by saxophonist Julius Hemphill, pianist Anthony Davis, double bassist Dave Holland, and drummer Pheeroan akLaff.
