Wadada Leo Smith's Great Lakes Quartet
The Chicago Symphonies (4CD Box)
LabelTUM RecordsGenreJazz & Improvisation
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*Includes a 80 pages booklet.* The trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith from Leland, Mississippi, started his career in the late sixties as a member of the legendary jazz trio Creative Construction Company, which also included Leroy Jenkins and Anthony Braxton, and has since advanced to become one of the most renowned representatives of contemporary (avant-garde) jazz - with more than thirty album releases to date. On the occasion of the 80th birthday of the internationally renowned composer and trumpeter in December, the Finnish label TUM has already released the two box sets "Trumpet" and "Sacred Ceremonies", TUM has already impressively demonstrated the artistic relevance of this exceptional musician, and now follows up with "The Chicago Symphonies" and "A Love Sonnet For Billie Holiday", the next two new releases in this anniversary series. The 4-CD box set "The Chicago Symphonies" presents four symphonies composed by Wadada Leo Smith especially for the Great Lakes Quartet. He was inspired by Don Cherry and his 1966 classic "Symphony For Improvisers", whose artistic approach he transferred to the present and expanded with additional social and political aspects. On "Gold Symphony", "Diamond Symphony" and "Pearl Symphony" W. L. Smith is accompanied by Henry Threadill (saxophone / flute), John Lindberg (bass) and Jack Dejohnette (drums), while on "Sapphire Symphony - The Presidents And Their Visions Of America", a tribute to Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama, the saxophone parts were taken over by Jonathon Haffner.
Format
Discs 1 - 3 recorded by Robert Musso, with assistant engineer Thom Beemer, at Avatar Studios in New York City on March 29 and 30, 2015. Disc 4 recorded by Scott Petito at NPR Studios in Catskills, New York, on June 1, 2018
Artwork: CD box: Keltainen neliö (Yellow square) (1966) Oil on canvas, 150 x 150 cm CD 1: Hopeateema (Silver theme) (1960s) Oil on canvas, 39 x 39 cm CD 2: Hopeateema (Silver theme) (1967) Oil on canvas, 80 x 81 cm CD 3: Valoisa maalaus (Sanguine painting) (1967) Oil on canvas, 75 x 80 cm CD 4: Plastinen kompositio (Plastic composition) (1964) Oil on canvas, 123 x 123 cm
Includes a 80 pages booklet (with a.o. a discography of Wadada Leo Smith' small group and ensemble recordings as leader or co-leader)
DISC 1
Gold Symphony - No. 1 39:48
Movements 1-5
DISC 2
Diamond Symphony - No. 2 36:38
Movements 1-4
DISC 3
Pearl Symphony - No. 3 38:45
Movements 1-5
DISC 4
Sapphire Symphony - No. 4; 49:13
The Presidents and Their Vision for America
Movements 1-5
All compositions by Wadada Leo Smith
DISCS 1, 2 & 3
Wadada Leo Smith trumpet, flugelhorn
Henry Threadgill alto saxophone, flute and bass flute
John Lindberg double bass
Jack DeJohnette drums
DISC 4
Wadada Leo Smith trumpet
Jonathon Haffner alto and soprano saxophones
John Lindberg double bass
Jack DeJohnette drums
Release notes
Discs 1 - 3 recorded by Robert Musso, with assistant engineer Thom Beemer, at Avatar Studios in New York City on March 29 and 30, 2015 Disc 4 recorded by Scott Petito at NPR Studios in Catskills, New York, on June 1, 2018 Artwork: CD box: Keltainen neliö (Yellow square) (1966) Oil on canvas, 150 x 150 cm CD 1: Hopeateema (Silver theme) (1960s) Oil on canvas, 39 x 39 cm CD 2: Hopeateema (Silver theme) (1967) Oil on canvas, 80 x 81 cm CD 3: Valoisa maalaus (Sanguine painting) (1967) Oil on…
| Gold Symphony - No.1 | |||
| 1-1 | Movement 1. (Light Fields And Circles: Amina Claudine Myers; Voices) | 9:34 | |
| 1-2 | Movement 2. (Joyful, Sound And The Numbers; People: The Art Ensemble Of Chicago) | 9:27 | |
| 1-3 | Movement 3. (Pastoral: Joseph Jarman; As If It Were The Seasons Of Seasons; Sherry Scott, Voice; Thurman Barker, Charles Clark And Christopher Gaddy) | ||
| 1-4 | Movement 4. (Creative Music; West End Blues And The Sonic Weather Bird: Louis Armstrong, Earl Hines, Lil Hardin And Baby Dodds) | 7:17 | |
| 1-5 | Movement 5. (Star-Fields: The Secretary, John S. Jackson) | 2:44 | |
| Diamond Symphony - No.2 | |||
| 2-1 | Movement 1. (The Rare Air Songs In Sonic Forms And Metrical Folding: Henry Threadgill, Steve McCall And Fred Hopkins) | 12:13 | |
| 2-2 | Movement 2. (Chicago: Culture, Creativity And The Artistic Passion; A Profile Of The Next Generations) | 6:51 | |
| 2-3 | Movement 3. (Muhal Richard Abrams: Levels And Degrees Of The Light Spectrums; A New Culture: The Association For The Advancement Of Creative Musicians) | 10:26 | |
| 2-4 | Movement 4. (Jack DeJohnette: A Special Edition, New Directions And The Sonic Rhythm Units) | 7:08 | |
| Pearl Symphony - No.3 | |||
| 3-1 | Movement 1. (For Alto; In The Orchestra: N-M488; Anthony Braxton: Operas) | 10:48 | |
| 3-2 | Movement 2. (Leroy Jenkins Mixed Quintet Sonics: Dance Opera) | 3:05 | |
| 3-3 | Movement 3. (Heliocentric Sun Ra's Energy And Particles Of Light) | 7:00 | |
| 3-4 | Movement 4. (Jupiter Skies: Kelan Phil Cohran And The Chicago Kulture) | 11:07 | |
| 3-5 | Movement 5. Scented Yellow And Red Chrysanthemums; Wadada Leo Smith: The Bell In Silence And Ten Freedom Summers) | 6:45 | |
| Sapphire Symphony - No.4 | |||
| 4-1 | Movement 1. (Araham Lincoln, The 16th President Of The United States Of America) | 6:02 | |
| 4-2 | Movement 2. (Abraham Lincoln At Gettysburg: Two Seven Two, 1863) | 11:18 | |
| 4-3 | Movement 3. (The Visionaries, Abraham Lincoln And Barack Hussein Obama) | 10:44 | |
| 4-4 | Movement 4. (Barack Hussein Obama At Selma: The Bridge Of Transformation) | 15:06 | |
| 4-5 | Movement 5. (Barack Hussein Obama, The 44th President Of The United States Of America) | 6:03 | |
- Henry Threadgill
- Alto Saxophone, Flute, Bass Flute (1-1 to 3-5)
- Jonathon Haffner
- Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone (4-1 to 4-5)
- Ahti Lavonen
- Artwork
- Juha Lökström
- Design
- John Lindberg
- Double Bass
- Jack DeJohnette
- Drums
- Thom Beemer
- Engineer [Assistant] (1-1 to 3-5)
- Wadada Leo Smith
- Flugelhorn (1-1 to 1-5), Liner Notes, Trumpet, Composed By
- Abraham Lincoln
- Liner Notes
- Barack Hussein Obama
- Liner Notes
- John Litweiler
- Liner Notes
- Petri Haussila
- Liner Notes, Producer [Produced By]
- Pauli Saastamoinen
- Mastered By
- Greg DiCrosta
- Mixed By
- Risto Hemmi
- Mixed By
- Dominik Huber
- Photography By [At Avatar Studios in New York City in March 2015]
- Helmut Karl Lackner
- Photography By [Jonathon Haffner]
- Pete Souza
- Photography By [President Barack Hussein Obama]
- Robert Musso
- Recorded By (1-1 to 3-5)
- Scott Petito
- Recorded By (4-1 to 4-5)
