Tao-Njia

Tao-Njia
Studio album by Wadada Leo Smith
Released	1996
Recorded	November 17 & December 14, 1995
Studio	Capital Recording, Los Angeles, CalArts, Valencia, California
Genre	Jazz
Length	43:00
Label	Tzadik
Producer	Wadada Leo Smith
Wadada Leo Smith chronology

Tao-Njia is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith which was recorded in 1995 and released on the Tzadik Records' Composer Series.^[1]

Music

"Another Wave More Waves" is performed by Smith's ensemble N'Da Kulture. "Double Thunderbolt" is a composition in six movements created as a memorial for Don Cherry with poetry by Smith's wife, Harumi Makino Smith. On the title track, the trumpeter is backed by the California E.A.R. Unit, a chamber ensemble conducted by Stephen "Lucky" Mosko.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz	^[3]
Down Beat	^[4]

In her review for AllMusic, Joslyn Layne states "Incorporating personal philosophy and beliefs into his compositions through mood and accompanying texts, Smith creates a warm album of spiritual instrumental music."^[2]

The Penguin Guide to Jazz notes "Recent years have seen Smith personally and musically involved with Oriental culture, and this is strongly reflected in Tao-Njia. Acoustically, it is one of his most remarkable records, a rich montage of sounds that are at once new and inmediately familiar."^[3]

The Down Beat review by John Corbett says "Tao Njia's three pieces are gentle, deceptively spacious compositions loaded with the gestural oomph of a master calligrapher. One might call them 'chamberish,' but that would be to miss their stylistic breadth, their Asian classical overtones and the force of Smith's soloing."^[4]

Track listing

All compositions by Wadada Leo Smith

"Another Wave More Waves" - 9:30
"Double Thunderbolt: Memorial for Don Cherry" - 12:14
"Tao-Njia" - 21:16

Personnel

Wadada Leo Smith - trumpet, flugelhorn, bamboo flute, nohkan, axatse, monophony-bar, Indian low bell, Japanese high bell, pre-recorded mbira
David Philipson - two low drums, frame drums, bansuri, axatse, Tibetan temple bells
Mika Noda - vibraphone, tubular bells, timpani
Harumi Makino Smith - poetry
Dorothy Stone - flute, alto flute, piccolo
Martin Walker - clarinet, bass clarinet
Vicki Ray - piano, celesta
Robin Lorentz - violin
Erika Duke - cello
Stephen Lucky Mosko - conductor

References

↑ "Wadada Leo Smith discography". Jazz Lists. jazzlists.com. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
1 2 Layne, Joslyn. Wadada Leo Smith - Tao-Njia: Review at AllMusic. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
1 2 Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2002) [1992]. The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD. The Penguin Guide to Jazz (6th ed.). London: Penguin. p. 1361. ISBN 0-14-051521-6.
1 2 Corbett, Joihn. Tao Njia review. Down Beat April 97. Print.

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[1] "Wadada Leo Smith discography". Jazz Lists. jazzlists.com. Retrieved 4 June 2018.

[Allmusic-2] 1 2 Layne, Joslyn. Wadada Leo Smith - Tao-Njia: Review at AllMusic. Retrieved November 17, 2015.

[Penguin_Guide-3] 1 2 Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2002) [1992]. The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD. The Penguin Guide to Jazz (6th ed.). London: Penguin. p. 1361. ISBN 0-14-051521-6.

[DownBeat-4] 1 2 Corbett, Joihn. Tao Njia review. Down Beat April 97. Print.