America (Wadada Leo Smith album)

America is an album by American jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith and drummer Jack DeJohnette which was recorded in 2008 and released on Tzadik Records. It was their first duo recording, a collaboration originally proposed to ECM in 1979 and rejected.[1]

America
Studio album by
Wadada Leo Smith
Released2009
RecordedOctober 2008
StudioOrange Music, West Orange, New Jersey
GenreJazz
Length53:10
LabelTzadik
ProducerWadada Leo Smith
Wadada Leo Smith chronology
Tablight
(2008)		 America
(2009)		 Spiritual Dimensions
(2009)

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Tom HullB+[3]

In his review for AllMusic, Phil Freeman states "The austere stillness at the heart of Smith's music is anchored and emphasized by DeJohnette's powerful mastery of the drum kit, adding up to a record that deserves to be placed alongside Don Cherry and Ed Blackwell's Mu sessions in the avant-jazz pantheon."[2]

The All About Jazz review by Troy Collins notes "Their interplay is measured and precise, neither overwrought nor timid, lending America an air of regal austerity—the sound of two masters engaged in an intimate musical conversation."[4]

Track listing
All compositions by Wadada Leo Smith
  1. "America Parts 1,2,3" - 14:23
  2. "Red Trumpet" - 7:53
  3. "John Brown's Fort" - 5:59
  4. "Ed Blackwell, The Blue Mountain Sun Drummer" - 10:13
  5. "Rabia's Unconditional Love, a Spiritual Mystery of the Heart" - 7:08
  6. "The Masnavi: The Falcon and the Owls" - 7:34

Personnel

References
  1. America Archived 2015-10-20 at the Wayback Machine at Wadada Leo Smith
  2. Freeman, Phil. Wadada Leo Smith - America: Review at AllMusic. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
  3. "Tom Hull: Grade List: Wadada Leo Smith". Tom Hull. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  4. Collins, Troy. America review at All About Jazz
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