Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Wadada Leo Smith's Mbira: Dark Lady of the Sonnets

Wadada Leo Smith's Mbira: Dark Lady of the Sonnets

By Eyal Hareuveni
February 24, 2012
View read count

Wadada Leo Smith's Mbira: Dark Lady of the Sonnets

Every few years master composer and trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith surprises with a new outfit that fits wonderfully in his rich and complex musical universe. The Mbira trio is no exception: a timeless, multidimensional trio, inspired by revered ancestors but with its course set for a possible future. In this trio, Smith contextualizes the spiritual veins of the American school of free jazz, the Mbira (thumb piano) music of the Shona culture in Zimbabwe, and traditional Chinese music, all in a contemporary and highly personal language—and as usual, delivering a powerful and most beautiful human document.

His comrades are Min Xiao-Fen, a virtuoso on the ancient Chinese-lute-like pipa who has collaborated with forward-thinking improvisers such as

Derek Bailey

guitar
1932 - 2005

" data-original-title="" title="">Derek Bailey and

John Zorn

saxophone, alto
b.1953

" data-original-title="" title="">John Zorn, and drummer

Pheeroan AkLaff

drums
b.1955

" data-original-title="" title="">Pheeroan AkLaff, who has played with Smith since the mid-seventies. Dark Lady of the Sonnets's release coincides with Smith's 70th birthday celebrations in December, 2011.

There are five thematic suites, composed specifically for this trio. The first, the bluesy "Sarah Bell Wallace," was written as a memorial for Smith's late mother. All elements of this trio gel organically: Smith's fiery non-metrical blowing; the ornamented textures of Xiao-Fen's loose theme; and akLaff's polyrhythmic base. "Blues: Cosmic Beauty" celebrates "the beautiful creation that Allah the Almighty made" in a number of dimensions, beginning with Smith and akLaff's energetic duet—both shifting between different pulses—until Xiao-Fen joins and begins a more meditative duet with Smith, who articulating his ideas with poetic richness and, later, adding spare vocals.

"Zulu Water Festival" was inspired by an image of 60,000 Zulus dancing near a quiet lake. It has a strong melodic theme, articulated by Smith and then echoed by Xiao-Fen in her most Chinese-sounding playing of the date, while akLaff engulfs their gestures with ceremonial drumming in the background. The title track is dedicated to singer

Billie Holiday

vocals
1915 - 1959

" data-original-title="" title="">Billie Holiday, "a voice larger than our world," as Smith writes in a poem of the same name, sung with an emotional, operatic voice by Xiao-Fen. The music was created for a dance ballet, and is sketched in contemplative and minimal lines, mostly as a subdued duet between Smith and Xiao-Fen's vocals and pipa that intensifies in its second part with the addition of akLaff. "Mbira" is the most complex and intense composition, also made for a dance ballet. It is a deeply ceremonial sonic journey structured in melodic unites that are connected in performance, demanding from each member of the trio to link his improvised element to the others improvised parts.

A masterpiece, from beginning to end.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Sarah Bell Wallace; Blues: Cosmic Beauty; Zulu Water Festival; Dark Lady of the Sonnets; Mbira.

Personnel

Wadada Leo Smith: trumpet and flugelhorn; Min Xiao-Fen: pipa and voice; Pheeroan akLaff: drums.

Album information

Title: Dark Lady of the Sonnets | Year Released: 2012 | Record Label: TUM Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Dida Pelled Trio: Aquebogue, NY, Feb...
< Previous

Elastic Aspects
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.