| Tao-Njia | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1996 | |||
| Recorded | November 17 & December 14, 1995 | |||
| Studio | Capital Recording, Los Angeles, CalArts, Valencia, California | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 43:00 | |||
| Label | Tzadik | |||
| Producer | Wadada Leo Smith | |||
| Wadada Leo Smith chronology | ||||
| ||||
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. [1]
"Another Wave More Waves" is performed by Smith's ensemble N'Da Kulture. "Double Thunderbolt" is a composition in six movements created as a memorial for Don Cherry with poetry by Smith's wife, Harumi Makino Smith. On the title track, the trumpeter is backed by the California E.A.R. Unit, a chamber ensemble conducted by Stephen "Lucky" Mosko.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz |  [3] |
| Down Beat | [4] |
| Tom Hull | B [5] |
In her review for AllMusic, Joslyn Layne states "Incorporating personal philosophy and beliefs into his compositions through mood and accompanying texts, Smith creates a warm album of spiritual instrumental music." [2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz notes "Recent years have seen Smith personally and musically involved with Oriental culture, and this is strongly reflected in Tao-Njia. Acoustically, it is one of his most remarkable records, a rich montage of sounds that are at once new and immediately familiar." [3]
The Down Beat review by John Corbett says "Tao Njia's three pieces are gentle, deceptively spacious compositions loaded with the gestural oomph of a master calligrapher. One might call them 'chamberish,' but that would be to miss their stylistic breadth, their Asian classical overtones and the force of Smith's soloing." [4]
All tracks are written by Wadada Leo Smith
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Another Wave More Waves" | 9:30 |
| 2. | "Double Thunderbolt: Memorial for Don Cherry" | 12:14 |
| 3. | "Tao-Njia" | 21:16 |
| Total length: | 43:00 | |
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.
This Time... is an album by the American jazz saxophonist and composer Anthony Braxton, recorded in 1970 and released on the BYG Actuel label. As on his previous album, Braxton performs with trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, violinist Leroy Jenkins and drummer Steve McCall.
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.
L-R-G / The Maze / S II Examples is an album by American jazz saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell, recorded in 1978 and released as a double LP on Nessa Records. It was reissued in 1989 as a single CD.
Spirit Catcher is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, recorded in 1979 and released on Nessa Records.
Rastafari is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith with the Bill Smith ensemble, released in 1983 on the Canadian Sackville label. The trumpeter considers the recording a cooperative effort, it is Bill Smith, co-founder of Sackville and producer of the album, who made it a "Leo Smith record". It was reissued on CD in 2003 with new artwork by Boxholder.
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.
Stumble is the second album by the AALY Trio + Ken Vandermark, which was recorded live at Chicago's Unity Temple in 1998 and released on Wobbly Rail, a short-lived imprint started by Merge Records/Superchunk principal Mac McCaughan. AALY Trio is a Swedish free jazz band led by saxophonist Mats Gustafsson. Originally just a guest, Vandermark became a full member of the group.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Prataksis is a collaborative studio album by the jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, the multi-instrumentalist Vinny Golia, and the double bass player Bertram Turetzky. The album was released in 1997 by Golia's Nine Winds Records.
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.
