Wadada Leo Smith rarely plays the trumpet on “Rosa Parks: Pure Love. An Oratorio of Seven Songs,” a 72-minute suite he composed for an ensemble that’s really many groups in one: three vocalists, four stringed instruments, four trumpets (including Smith), and a duo featuring drums and electronics. On “Rosa Parks: Mercy, Music for Double Quartet,” the strings and brass come together, stretching paper-thin but steely melodies across a lot of open space. Smith states in the press materials that the oratorio is dedicated to a woman “of exceptional courage and wisdom, who made the right move of resistance at the right time.” In that sentence you can almost hear Smith’s music: His slow, deliberate horn playing often sounds like a practice of resistance, and he always knows the right time to act. RUSSONELLOMatthew Shipp Trio, ‘Flying Saucer’

Source: New York Times February 15, 2019 18:00 UTC