Trumpeter, composer, music theorist, and cultural activist
Wadada Leo Smith
has been a leading light in the
jazz
and
new music
vanguard for nearly 40 years. His numerous recordings for
Black Saint
,
Moers Music
Pi
Boxholder
ECM
Tzadik
, and other labels in Europe, Japan, and the United States are all elements of the evolutionary progress of his wonderfully idiosyncratic system called "new world music." This four-CD box set on
John Zorn
's
label is incontrovertible proof of the label's mission to issue music by artists he respects regardless of commercial value or "critical" (d)evaluation.
Kabell
was a label set up by
Smith
to document his theories regarding not only the structure of music but its sonorities, its integrational possibilities with society at large, and of course more requisite ideas about the development of harmony, tonal integration, and the language of elocution he created. The box compiles music from four albums: the truly moving and beautiful first
release (
Creative Music -- 1
), which featured
solo using trumpet, fluegelhorn, and a plethora of percussions and stringed instruments; the trio sides with pianist
Anthony Davis
and bassist
Wes Brown
from the second
album (
Reflectativity
); the trio and quintet sides with his
New Dalta Ahkri
band that included
Oliver Lake
Pheeroan akLaff
in addition to
Brown
Davis
from the next
disc (
Song of Humanity
); and his return to solo work and extended composition from the fourth
Akhreanvention
).
In addition to the four original albums contained on single discs, there is over two hours of supplemental material that corresponds to the release of each album in different settings, much of it recorded live. What this accomplishes is not merely to fill out individual CDs, but to offer a multidimensional articulation of
's vision in the context of being in the world and to bring this new musical language to audiences who may not have encountered it before. This aspect of
Kabell Years
cannot be overstated.
's musical world has grown multidimensionally over the past 30 years, and the 1970s were pivotal for its foundation. Scores are reprinted in the booklet to offer views of how parallel sound universes intersect in
's pieces as narrative devices -- stunning examples are the score for his
"Transcendental Suite"
"t wmukl -- D."
In
's sonic terrain,
improvisation
offers an in for the scored compositions to become less centrally focused, and therefore open-ended, inconclusive, and full of possibilities both identifiable and remote. His use of tonal interpolation and extended harmonic levels offers integration not only of the
blues
, but also of Eastern sonorities, methods of breath control, and the expression of the musical unconscious as a nurtured, analytical process. However, the solo recordings are the most satisfying, because
's sense of humor is fully expressed as a part of his vision; his warmth and accessibility are what set him apart from many of his peers, and there is great tenderness and poetry in the way he uses musical language as a place for dialogue rather than dictation. This is a monumentally important addition to the recorded library of
avant-garde
music and should be considered a necessary part of any enthusiast's shelf. ~ Thom Jurek