Heart's Reflections

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Heart's Reflections
Heart's Reflections WLS.jpg
Studio album by
Wadada Leo Smith
ReleasedMay 16, 2011
StudioFirehouse 12 Recording Studio, New Haven, CT
Herb Alpert's School of Music, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA
GenreJazz
Length1:54:00
LabelCuneiform Records Rune 330/331
ProducerMichael Gregory Jackson
Wadada Leo Smith chronology
The Blue Mountain's Sun Drummer
(2010) 		Heart's Reflections
(2011) 		Dark Lady of the Sonnets
(2011)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic4.5/5 stars[1]
All About Jazz3.5/5 stars[2]
The Telegraph3/5 stars[3]
The Jazz Mann4/5 stars[4]
Tom HullA–[5]

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]

Reception[]

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[]

Disc 1

All tracks are written by Wadada Leo Smith.

No.TitleLength
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.TitleLength
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[]

  • 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[]

  1. ^ Freeman, Phil. "Wadada Leo Smith / Wadada Leo Smith's Organic Heart's Reflections". Allmusic. Allmusic. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  2. ^ Corroto, Mark (May 22, 2011). "Wadada Leo Smith's Organic: Heart's Reflections". All About Jazz. allaboutjazz.com. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  3. ^ Hewett, Ivan (4 August 2011). "Wadada Leo Smith's Organic: Heart's Reflections, CD review". The Telegraph. telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  4. ^ Owen, Tim (August 21, 2011). "Heart's Reflections Wadada Leo Smith". The Jazz Mann. thejazzmann.com. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  5. ^ "Tom Hull: Grade List: Wadada Leo Smith". Tom Hull. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  6. ^ "Wadada Leo Smith – Heart's Reflections". Discogs. discogs.com. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  7. ^ Hall, Glen (15 April 2011). "Wadada Leo Smith's Organic Heart's Reflections". Exclaim!. exclaim.ca. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  8. ^ Johnson, Phil (15 October 2011). "Album: Wadada Leo Smith's Organic, Heart's Reflection (Cuneiform)". Independent. independent.co.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
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