Wadada Leo Smith's new album Solo: Reflections And Meditations On Monk features his solo trumpet on four classic Thelonious Monk compositions and four new compositions by Smith inspired by Monk, the artist that Smith feels closest to in the historic continuum of creative music. From the time he listened to the early masters of modern jazz as a teenager, Smith felt that ""It was Monk, his ideas of a band and composition, that were the closest to what I dreamed of being as an artist."" In addition to four classic Monk compositions, ""Ruby, My Dear,"" ""Reflections,"" ""Crepuscule With Nellie"" and ""'Round Midnight,"" the album includes four new compositions by Smith inspired by Monk and his personal history - whether real, imagined or dreamed. Together, the pieces form a unique collection wherein the two composers seem to communicate with each other through Smith's solo performances.
T**R
'Smith elongates and intensifies Monk’s silences until they sound like his own
Wadada Leo Smith in a marvellous reimagining of Monk. Solo trumpet playing of a very high order. Read Adam Shatz's review in the NYRB: 'Smith elongates and intensifies Monk’s silences until they sound like his own. This transformation, far from betraying Monk, distills the lyricism, tenderness, and yearning at the heart of his melodic writing.'
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