Luminous Axis

Luminous Axis
Studio album by
Wadada Leo Smith
Releasedtracks 1–12: August 18, 2002
tracks 13–15: August 8, 2002
Studiotracks 1–12: Mills College, Oakland, California
tracks 13–15: Frank Booth, Brooklyn
GenreJazz
Length54:45
LabelTzadik
ProducerWadada Leo Smith
Wadada Leo Smith chronology
The Year of the Elephant
(2002) 		Luminous Axis
(2002) 		Organic Resonance
(2003)

Luminous Axis (subtitled The Caravans of Winter and Summer) is an album by American jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith which was recorded in 2002 and released on the Tzadik Records' Composer Series.[1] The album includes an extended suite for four laptops and trumpet, two duets with Ikue Mori and a composition featuring the percussionist William Winant.[2]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz[4]

In his review for AllMusic, arwulf arwulf notes, "Wadada Leo Smith is a master of improvisation who balances sound and silence with a combination of theatrical freedom and ritualistic discipline that can be breathtaking."[3]

The Penguin Guide to Jazz says, "A suite of miniatures and longer improvisations, with the trumpet keening out across spare, almost subliminal electronics background."[4]

The All About Jazz review by Farrell Lowe states, "Luminous Axis should draw emphatic interest from listeners curious about the exploration of modern compositional style and performance. It's simply brilliant."[5]

Track listing

All compositions by Wadada Leo Smith

  1. "Garden of the Heart" – 5:20
  2. "Perfect Essence" – 0:33
  3. "Radiant Light Gushing from the Sun" – 2:37
  4. "Night Splendor, A Certain Moon Flow" – 1:25
  5. "Tango" – 0:45
  6. "Beauty" – 0:15
  7. "Fountain (Inmortality)" – 4:28
  8. "Garden of the Soul" – 3:50
  9. "Apples, Dates and Pomegranates" – 1:27
  10. "Light, Ginger, Olives and Musk" – 2:35
  11. "Harp: A Gleaming Sama" – 2:17
  12. "Fountain (Lore)" – 5:08
  13. "Camphor" – 3:52
  14. "Caravans of Winter and Summer" – 15:15
  15. "The Traveler" – 4:58

Personnel

References

  1. ^ "Wadada Leo Smith discography". Jazz Lists. jazzlists.com. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  2. ^ Luminous Axis at Tzadik
  3. ^ a b arwulf, arwulf. Wadada Leo Smith – Luminous Axis: Review at AllMusic. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
  4. ^ a b Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD. The Penguin Guide to Jazz (9th ed.). London: Penguin. p. 1311. ISBN 0141034017.
  5. ^ Lowe, Farrell. Luminous Axis review at All About Jazz