Recently described by Vijay Iyer as ‘one of the greatest recorded works of all time.’ ‘His sound has strong resemblances to that of Miles Davis,’ noted the five-star Guardian review, back in 1978, ‘but Smith has absorbed the approaches of all the bebop trumpet heroes and redeployed them within a bold, vital and often ritualistic setting.’
With Charlie Haden, Lester Bowie, Kenny Wheeler…

Characteristically brilliant ebullience from the Art Ensemble trumpeter in 1974, with John Hicks (doing Hello Dolly as a duet), John Stubblefield, bro Joseph Bowie from Defunkt, Julius Hemphill (on Ornette’s Lonely Woman), Bob Stewart, Cecil McBee, Jerome Cooper, Charles Shaw and Phillip Wilson.

Mono.

Terrific stuff from the 1978 Antico Adagio sessions.

With celebrated socialist protest singer Maria Farantouri, and CL’s quartet featuring Jason Moran augmented by a lyra player and second pianist: Theodorakis, traditional Greek music, Eleni Karaindrou, Dream Weaver…

Duets covering Gershwin, the Duke, Strayhorn, a Billie Holiday, a Beach Boys… I Shall Be Released by Bob Dylan via The Band… The title suite is a deeply moving CL original, about his great-great-grandmother.

‘*****’, The Times, Independent On Sunday, Daily Telegraph, What’s On, Evening Standard, The Independent. ‘Marvellous pop — catchy, fun, young, effortless’, The Times; ‘one of the delights of the age’, Songlines.

‘an exquisitely poignant, evocative record’, Daily Telegraph; ‘wonderful… album of the year’, Sunday Times; ‘simply a classic album. Music by the people, for the people,’ The Voice.