Kulture Jazz is a solo album by American jazz trumpeter and composer Wadada Leo Smith, recorded in October 1992 and released on ECM the following year—Smith's second album for the label, following Divine Love (1979).[1][2][3][4]

Kulture Jazz
Studio album by
Released1993
RecordedOctober 1992
StudioHardstudios
Winterthur, Switzerland
GenreJazz
Length52:16
LabelECM
ECM 1507
ProducerSteve Lake
Leo Smith chronology
Rastafari
(1983)
Kulture Jazz
(1993)
Tao-Njia
(1996)

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [5]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music     [6]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings    [7]

The AllMusic review by Eugene Chadbourne states, "The ECM folks do much better by Wadada Leo Smith than ever before with this solo recording, a true masterwork of its kind and one of the purest, most enlightening demonstrations of the connected natures of folk, blues, jazz, and creative music."[5]

A reviewer of Jazz Desk stated: "This album is something like the musical equivalent of someone building his own house or boat or sewing his own clothes. It is Wadada Leo Smith alone in the studio playing trumpet, harmonica, bamboo flute, percussions, Asian and African instruments and singing. The music is very personal and at times almost has a meditative quality."[8]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Wadada Leo Smith

No.TitleLength
1."Don't You Remember?"3:42
2."Kulture of Jazz"5:33
3."Song of Humanity (Kanto Pri Homaro)"3:36
4."Fire-Sticks, Chrysanthemums and Moonlight (For Harumi)"3:42
5."Seven Rings of Light in the Hola Trinity"2:26
6."Louis Armstrong Counterpointing"2:43
7."Albert Ayler in a Spiritual Light"4:44
8."The Kemet Omega Reigns (For Billie Holiday)"5:02
9."Love Supreme (For John Coltrane)"3:56
10."Mississippi Delta Sunrise (For Bobbie)"3:55
11."Mother: Sarah Brown-Smith-Wallace (1920–92)"4:06
12."The Healer's Voyage on the Sacred River (For Ayl Kwel Armah)"3:46
13."Uprising (For Jessie and Yvonne)"5:05
Total length:52:16

Personnel

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References

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  1. ^ ECM discography accessed October 20, 2011
  2. ^ "Wadada Leo Smith discography". Jazz Lists. jazzlists.com. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  3. ^ Barnhart, Scotty (2005). The World of Jazz Trumpet: A Comprehensive History & Practical Philosophy. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 233. ISBN 9780634095276. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  4. ^ ACKERMANN, KARL (9 March 2016). "Vijay Iyer & Wadada Leo Smith: A Cosmic Rhythm With Each Stroke". All About Jazz. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  5. ^ a b Chadbourne, E. AllMusic Review accessed May 30, 2023
  6. ^ Larkin, Colin. "The Encyclopedia of Popular Music". p. 4997. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  7. ^ Cook, Richard. The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. p. 1278. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  8. ^ "The one man love orchestra of Wadada Leo Smith". Jazz Desk. 19 December 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2019.