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.
3 Compositions of New Jazz is the debut album by Anthony Braxton released in 1968 on the Delmark label. It features performances by Braxton, violinist Leroy Jenkins and trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith with pianist Muhal Richard Abrams appearing on two tracks.
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.
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.
Lake Biwa is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter and composer Wadada Leo Smith released on John Zorn's Tzadik label in 2004. The album contains four pieces composed between 2000 and 2004.
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.
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.
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.
Light Upon Light is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith which was released in 1999 on the Tzadik Records' Composer Series. The album includes a composition for chamber ensemble and gamelan quartet, a solo piece for viola, a bass concerto written for Bert Turetzky and two electronic pieces.
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.
If You Want the Kernels You Have to Break the Shells is an album by a free jazz trio consisting of German bassist Peter Kowald, American trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, and German drummer Günter Sommer, which was recorded live in 1981 and released on the German FMP label. The two tracks from the side A of the album were combined on the CD reissue with Touch the Earth, another album by the same trio.
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.
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.
Condor, Autumn Wind is a live album by American jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith recorded with Harumi Makino Smith. The album is dedicated to Sarhanna, Kashala and Lamar, in special memory of Dizzy Gillespie.
