Procession of the Great Ancestry

Last updated

Procession of the Great Ancestry
Procession great ancestry cover.jpeg
Studio album by
Released1989
RecordedFebruary 28, 1983
StudioAcme Recording, Chicago
Genre Jazz
Length47:15
Label Nessa
Producer Chuck Nessa
Wadada Leo Smith chronology
Human Rights
(1986)
Procession of the Great Ancestry
(1989)
Rastafari
(1983)
reissue cover
Procession great ancestry reissue cover.jpeg

Procession of the Great Ancestry is an album by American jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith which was recorded in 1983, first released in 1989 [1] on the English Chief label licensed by Nessa Records and reissued in 2009 on Nessa.

Contents

Music

The album includes four compositions dedicated to trumpeters who have inspired Smith (Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Booker Little and Roy Eldridge) and performed by a quartet including vibraphonist Bobby Naughton, bassist Joe Fonda and percussionist Kahil El'Zabar. On two vocal tracks the ensemble is joined by bassist Mchaka Uba and blues guitarist Louis Myers. The final track, "Nuru Light: The Prince of Peace", is a tribute to slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., and the quartet is joined by tenor saxophonist John Powell. [2]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [4]
Tom Hull B+ [5]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [6]

In his review for AllMusic, Thom Jurek writes: "Procession of the Great Ancestry is among Wadada Leo Smith's most obscure, but ultimately most satisfying, recordings. This was the first album to showcase Smith's expansive vision, which included all forms of black music -- from the myriad languages of jazz to gutbucket blues, reggae, and various African folk musics as well as a little R&B groove for measure." [3]

The Penguin Guide to Jazz states: "'Smith makes no attempt to pastiche any of his musical ancestors. A wonderful record, despite the overcooked poetics." [6]

Track listing

All compositions by Wadada Leo Smith
  1. "Blues: Jah Jah Is the Perfect Love" - 2:50
  2. "Procession of the Great Ancestry" - 15:10
  3. "The Flower That Seeds the Earth" - 6:09
  4. "The Third World, Grainery of Pure Earth" - 8:25
  5. "Who Killed David Walker?" - 3:12
  6. "Celestials Sparks in the Sanctuary of Redemption" - 8:01
  7. "Nuru Light: The Prince of Peace" - 3:11

Personnel

References

  1. "Wadada Leo Smith discography". Jazz Lists. jazzlists.com. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  2. Procession of the Great Ancestry at Nessa Records
  3. 1 2 Jurek, Thom. Wadada Leo Smith - Procession of the Great Ancestry: Review at AllMusic . Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  4. Larkin, Colin. "The Encyclopedia of Popular Music". p. 4997. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  5. "Tom Hull: Grade List: Wadada Leo Smith". Tom Hull . Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  6. 1 2 Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2002) [1992]. The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD. The Penguin Guide to Jazz (6th ed.). London: Penguin. p. 1361. ISBN   0-14-051521-6.