Wadada Leo Smith - Ten Freedom Summers '2012

Tracks list

Wadada Leo Smith spent nearly 35 years composing Ten Freedom Summers, his
massive tribute to the Civil Rights Movement. These 19 compositions address the
eras milestones between 1954 and 1964: they celebrate its places, heroes, and
motivations, and they remember its martyrs. These four discs contain over five
hours of music. It is performed by his Golden Quartet and Golden Quintet, with
the composer on trumpet, pianist Anthony Davis, bassist John Lindberg, and
drummers Pheeroan akLaff and Susie Ibarra, as well as the nine-member, Los
Angeles-based contemporary classical group Southwest Chamber Music under the
direction of Jeff von der Schmidt. It travels through jazz, contemporary
classical music, and modernist improvisation. It was recorded in three days. The
compositions are organized in three principal sections Defining Moments in
America, What Is Democracy, and Freedom Summers. It was begun in 1977 with
Medgar Evers: A Love-Voice of a Thousand Years Journey for Liberty and Justice,
written for violinist Leroy Jenkins. It was worked on for nearly two decades
before being completed in a flurry of activity between 2009 and 2011. Though
sprawling and ambitious, Smiths compositions are focused, yet they do allow real
freedom of expression for the individual players. The overarching theme of Ten
Freedom Summers never overwhelms its content. Individual works dont follow in
chronological order, but are organized more organically, allowing for an ease of
flow despite the projects grand scale. With a couple of exceptions, the jazz
group and the classical ensemble perform separately, and the contrast is
beautifully complementary. One exception is on the suite-like Emmett Till:
Defiant, Fearless. The Golden Quartet begins by improvising along a lyric frame,
before Southwest Chamber Music enters. Its cellist engages in counterpoint with
Lindberg before the GQ drops out, only to return later in full roar as the
strings shimmer, fade, then sprint back into the fray until the tune closes with
emotional resonance and power. Most of these pieces are long, ranging between
nine and 20 minutes. But Smith has been composing for the Golden Quartet and
Quintet groups for decades, and has often worked with strings. His musical
language moves between these two formations with ease and grace, always
achieving his stated aim. He is able to channel each group dynamic, whether in
formally composed music, or structured or spontaneous improvisation to
articulate a gorgeous narrative flow. As such, Ten Freedom Summers is an
encounter with music as much as it is a statement about, and the analysis of,
history. The story offered in sound is as emotionally and powerfully resonant,
as profound as any written account, because for Smith, this story is immediate;
born not of mere topical reflection but of personal and spiritual experience.
His commitment is total. Ten Freedom Summers is his magnum opus; it belongs in
jazzs canonical lexicon with Duke Ellingtons Black Brown & Beige and Max Roachs
Freedom Now Suite.


Tracks:

1-1 Dred Scott: 1857	11:11
1-2 Malik Al Shabazz And The People Of The Shahada	5:15
1-3 Emmett Till: Defiant, Fearless	18:02
1-4 Thurgood Marshall And Brown Vs. Board Of Education: A Dream Of Equal
Education, 1954	16:06
1-5 John F. Kennedys New Frontier And The Space Age, 1960	22:12

2-1 Rosa Parks And The Montgomery Bus Boycott, 381 Days	12:43
2-2 Black Church	16:34
2-3 Freedom Summer: Voter Registration, Acts Of Compassion And Empowerment,
1964	12:32
2-4 Lyndon B. Johnsons Great Society And The Civil Rights Act Of 1964	24:12

3-1 The Freedom Riders Ride	16:42
3-2 Medgar Evers: A Love-Voice Of A Thousand Years Journey For Liberty And
Justice	10:23
3-3 The D.C. Wall: A War Memorial For All Times	12:18
3-4 Buzzsaw: The Myth Of A Free Press	15:02
3-5 The Little Rock Nine: A Force For Desegregation In Education, 1957	13:50

4-1 America, Parts 1, 2 & 3	14:14
4-2 September 11th, 2001: A Memorial	9:30
4-3 Fannie Lou Hamer And The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, 1964	9:06
4-4 Democracy	14:30
4-5 Martin Luther King, Jr.: Memphis,The Prophecy	20:34

Personnel:

Pheeroan akLaff – drums
Alison Bjorkedal – harp
Anthony Davis – piano
Jim Foschia – clarinet
Lorenz Gamma – violin
Golden Quartet – ensemble, main personnel
Golden Quintet – ensemble, main personnel
Susie Ibarra – drums
Peter Jacobson – cello
Larry Kaplan – flute
Jan Karlin – viola
John Lindberg – bass
Tom Peters – bass
Jeff von der Schmidt – conductor
Wadada Leo Smith – composer, executive producer, primary artist,
producer, trumpet
Matthew Snyder – engineer
Southwest Chamber Music – ensemble, executive producer, producer
Lynn Vartan – percussion
Shalini Vijayan – violin

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