Divine Love (album)

Divine Love
Studio album by Leo Smith
Released	1979
Recorded	September 1978
Studio	Tonstudio Bauer Ludwigsburg, West Germany
Genre	Jazz
Length	45:53
Label	ECM 1143
Producer	Manfred Eicher
Wadada Leo Smith chronology
Solo Music: Ahkreanvention (1979) Divine Love (1979) Budding of a Rose (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. ^{[1] [2]}

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[4]
The Guardian	[5]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz	[6]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide	[7]
DownBeat	[8]

The Penguin Guide to Jazz selected this album as part of its suggested Core Collection. ^[6]

In a review for AllMusic, Thom Jurek wrote: "Smith acts as conductor, soloist, and his own sideman here; he opens the field on Divine Love through the authority of his players, each of whom receives the colorful possibilities he presents with unguarded openness and the desire to expand on them." ^[3]

DownBeat gave the album 4 stars. ^[8] Litweiler wrote, "Smith’s evolution of such an alive, complex music seems to me a remarkable achievement of intellect and technique, yet the music is thoroughly graceful and the resulting sensations all pleasurable". ^[8]

Track listing

All compositions by Leo Smith

1. "Divine Love" - 21:47
2. "Tastalun" - 6:38
3. "Spirituals: Language of Love" - 15:28

Personnel

• Leo Smith – trumpet, flugelhorn, gong, percussion
• Dwight Andrews – alto flute, bass clarinet, tenor saxophone, triangles, mbira
• Bobby Naughton – vibraharp, marimba, bells
• Lester Bowie, Kenny Wheeler – trumpet (track 2)
• Charlie Haden – bass (track 3)

References

1. ECM discography Archived 2012-10-06 at the Wayback Machine accessed September 13, 2011
2. "Wadada Leo Smith discography". Jazz Lists. jazzlists.com. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
3. Jurek, Thom. "Wadada Leo Smith: Divine Love". AllMusic. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
4. Larkin, Colin. "The Encyclopedia of Popular Music". p. 4997. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
5. Fordham, John (August 16, 1996). "Jazz CD of the week: Leo Smith". The Guardian . p. 13.
6. Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2008) [1992]. "Wadada Leo Smith". The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. The Penguin Guide to Jazz (9th ed.). New York: Penguin. p. 1309. ISBN   978-0-14-103401-0.
7. Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide . USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. pp.  183. ISBN   0-394-72643-X.
8. Litweiler, John (December 18, 1979). "Record Reviews". DownBeat . 46 (18): 44.