More Than 123 in Bloomington, MN

Since the turn of the century, composer and multi-instrumentalist
Wadada Leo Smith
has been prolific as a recording artist, and has actively led three groups --
the Golden Quartet
,
Organic
, and
the Silver Orchestra
. Based on
Dark Lady of the Sonnets
, here he leads a fourth band,
Mbira
, a trio named for the African "thumb piano." (Interestingly, no such instrument appears here.) It's
Smith
on trumpet and fluegelhorn, drummer
Pheeroan ak Laff
, and renowned pipa player
Min Xiao-Fen
. The pipa is a Chinese lute-like instrument, used in the country's traditional music for centuries.
Min
has expanded that profile on recordings by
Jon Jang
John Zorn
Ned Rothenberg
Randy Weston
, and avant-garde composer
Tan Dun
. There are five pieces on
. Its shortest number is over six minutes and the lengthiest over 16, all works of nearly sublime avant-garde jazz. It commences with the gorgeous, elegiac "Sarah Bell Wallace," named for
's late mother.
plays solo to introduce it (and one could reasonably argue she establishes the instrument's true place in this group here). There is an otherworldly blues-like quality, though she employs a range of textures, from quickly strummed chords to single-string runs.
Ak Laff
enters on tom-toms next, and finally
comes in, playing a lonely, elongated fluegelhorn melody that gives way, eventually, to more spirited improvisation without losing sight of the original harmonic syntax. The other four pieces allow for the expression of a wide spectrum of moods, dynamics, and dialogue exchanges. "Blues: Cosmic Beauty" opens with
and
ak Laff
engaged in a seemingly midtempo duet until
enters and starts pushing at the tune, balancing improvisation and space. "Zulu Water Festival" begins in brief spurts with a pronounced melody articulated by
's trumpet and
's pipa.
hangs in the background, playing mainly accents until a tension is established inside a complex yet lovely melodic compositional frame, he then shifts to his cymbals, kick drum, and snare to guide the rhythm like a dancer. The title track is the most spacious thing here.
uses her voice to sing a poem written by
. It is very spatial, and minimal throughout. "Mbira" closes this set, and is the most intense thing here. It too begins skeletally, but quickly picks up and becomes a force of nature.
's voice makes guttural, moaning, and swooping sounds, creating a fourth voice and another level of tension; it's reflected and articulated by the rest of the ensemble. It eventually gains momentum and finishes in a fiery wail of emotion amid exploding tonalities.
proves that at 70,
has an entire world of sound at his disposal and continues, in a uniquely creative language, to display it seemingly at will. ~ Thom Jurek