Heart's Reflections is a two-disc studio album by American jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith. The album was released on May 16, 2011 via Cuneiform Records label.[6]
| Heart's Reflections | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 16, 2011 | |||
| Studio | Firehouse 12 Recording Studio, New Haven, CT Herb Alpert's School of Music, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 1:54:00 | |||
| Label | Cuneiform Records Rune 330/331 | |||
| Producer | Michael Gregory Jackson | |||
| Wadada Leo Smith chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| All About Jazz |  [2] |
| The Telegraph | [3] |
| The Jazz Mann | [4] |
| Tom Hull | A−[5] |
Reception edit
Glen Hall of Exclaim! stated "Trumpeter Smith wears his love for Miles Davis on his sleeve. And the vibe of Heart's Reflections echoes Electric-era Miles, with wah-wah, electric trumpet, yowling guitars, rock-solid drumming and jangling electric piano. But where Miles' music exuded sexuality, most of Smith's two-CD set is ostensibly dedicated to Sufi saint Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili... Even with a heavy-on-electronics, 14-piece group, Smith's music is consistently focused and expressive.[7]
Phil Johnson of The Independent wrote "The astonishing 20-minute opening track might be called "Don Cherry's Electric Sonic Garden", but it's the wheedling tone and furious backbeat of the late Miles Davis that veteran free-jazz trumpeter Smith makes you think of most. Four electric guitarists among an ensemble of 14, with two laptop operatives squiggling away. You can argue that nothing on the double-CD quite equals it, or question the context of mystic spirituality, but Smith has made electric jazz sound dangerous again".[8]
Track listing edit
Disc 1
All tracks are written by Wadada Leo Smith
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Don Cherry's Electric Sonic Garden [For Don Cherry]" | 20:50 |
| 2. | "The Dhikr of Radiant Hearts, Part I" | 2:32 |
| 3. | "The Dhikr of Radiant Hearts, Part II" | 6:27 |
| 4. | "The Majestic Way" | 9:13 |
| 5. | "The Shaykh, as far as Humaythira" | 7:29 |
| 6. | "Spiritual Wayfarers" | 6:11 |
| 7. | "Certainty" | 5:24 |
| 8. | "Ritual Purity and Love, Part I" | 3:25 |
| 9. | "Ritual Purity and Love, Part II" | 2:32 |
Disc 2
All tracks are written by Wadada Leo Smith
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Silsila" | 5:34 |
| 2. | "The Well: From Bitter to Fresh Sweet Water, Part I" | 6:13 |
| 3. | "The Well: From Bitter to Fresh Sweet Water, Part II" | 5:02 |
| 4. | "Toni Morrison: The Black Hole (Sagittarius A*), Conscience and Epic Memory (For Toni Morrison)" | 10:35 |
| 5. | "Leroy Jenkins's Air Steps (For Leroy Jenkins)" | 22:29 |
Personnel edit
- Wadada Leo Smith – trumpet
- Pheeroan akLaff – drums, soloist
- Casey Anderson – sax (alto)
- Charlie Burgin – laptop, soloist
- Casey Butler – sax (tenor)
- Josh Gerowitz – guitar (electric), soloist
- Michael Gregory Jackson – guitar (electric), mixing, producer, soloist
- John Lindberg – bass (acoustic), soloist
- Brandon Ross – guitar (electric), soloist
- Angelica Sanchez – piano, soloist, Wurlitzer piano
- Lamar Smith – guitar (electric)
- Stephanie Smith – soloist, violin
- Skúli Sverrisson – six-string bass, bass (electric), soloist
- Mark Trayle – laptop, soloist
References edit
- ^ Freeman, Phil. "Wadada Leo Smith / Wadada Leo Smith's Organic Heart's Reflections". Allmusic. Allmusic. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
- ^ Corroto, Mark (May 22, 2011). "Wadada Leo Smith's Organic: Heart's Reflections". All About Jazz. allaboutjazz.com. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
- ^ Hewett, Ivan (4 August 2011). "Wadada Leo Smith's Organic: Heart's Reflections, CD review". The Telegraph. telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
- ^ Owen, Tim (August 21, 2011). "Heart's Reflections Wadada Leo Smith". The Jazz Mann. thejazzmann.com. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
- ^ "Tom Hull: Grade List: Wadada Leo Smith". Tom Hull. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
- ^ "Wadada Leo Smith – Heart's Reflections". Discogs. discogs.com. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
- ^ Hall, Glen (15 April 2011). "Wadada Leo Smith's Organic Heart's Reflections". Exclaim!. exclaim.ca. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
- ^ Johnson, Phil (15 October 2011). "Album: Wadada Leo Smith's Organic, Heart's Reflection (Cuneiform)". Independent. independent.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2022-05-09. Retrieved 1 June 2018.