Wadada Leo Smith

• 5-CD BOX SET

• INCLUDES 60 PAGES BOOKLET

The Emerald Duets is a crowning achievement among Wadada Leo Smith's many recorded duo collaborations with drummers/percussionists, that have previously featured such creative giants as Ed Blackwell, Jack DeJohnette, Milford Graves, Louis Moholo-Moholo among others.

The Emerald Duets features four master drummers who have each, in their own unique fashion, contributed to the way modern drumming has developed in the past six decades and how it is now perceived. Pheeroan akLaff, Andrew Cyrille and Han Bennink are each featured on one disc and Jack DeJohnette on two discs, including Smith's five-part composition "Paradise: The Gardens and Fountains" that fills the fifth disc of this boxed set in its entirety.

The sessions with akLaff, Cyrille and DeJohnette mostly feature compositions by Wadada Leo Smith, including three very different versions of Smith's powerful statement for the protection of freedom and democracy, "The Patriot Act, Unconstitutional and a Force that Destroys Democracy.

PERSONNEL:

• Wadada Leo Smith - (trumpet and piano), with:

• Pheeroan akLaff - (drums on CD 1)
• Andrew Cyrille - (drums on CD 2)
• Han Bennink - (drums and percussion on CD 3)
• Jack DeJohnette - (drums, piano and Fender Rhodes on CD 4 and CD 5)

TRACKS:

• CD 1: with Pheeroan AkLaff - LITANIES, PRAYERS & MEDITATIONS
• 01.The Prayer (For Keith Jarrett)
• 02. First Meditation From The Heart: The Beauty, The Beloved
• 03. The Uyghur In Xinjiang, China
• 04. Rumi´s Masnavi: A Sonic Expression: Part I
• 05. Rumi´s Masnavi: A Sonic Expression: Part II
• 06. Rumi´s Masnavi: A Sonic Expression: Part III
• 07. Rumi´s Masnavi: A Sonic Expression: Part IV
• 08. A Sonic Litany On Peace
• 10. A Sonic Litany On Justice
• 11. Second Meditation From The Heart: The Beloved, The Beauty

• CD 2: with Andrew Cyrille - HAVANA, CUBA
• 01. The Patriot Act, Unconstitutional & A Force That Destroys Democracy
• 02. Havana, The Maghrib Prayer & Reflections
• 03. United States Representative Ilhan Omar
• 04. Jeanne Lee: In A Jupiter Mood
• 05. Donald Ayler: The Master Of The Sound & Energy Forms
• 06. A Rainbow Sonic Ark For Tomasz Ludwik Stanko (1942-2018)
• 07. Haiti, An Independent Nation In 1804 But Not Recognized By Britain, France, Germany, The United States & Others: A Designed Tragedy!
• 08. Mongezi Feza

• CD 3: with Han Bennink - MYSTERIOUS SONIC FIELDS
• 01. Chrysanthemum Flowers On A Mountaintop (For Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan & Mary Jackson)
• 02. Largo: A Mysterious Love Sonic (For Shana, Robeson And Sarah)
• 03. Louis Armstrong In New York City & Accra, Ghana
• 04. Albert Einstein: Particles Of Light, A Study In Perception
• 05. Ornette Coleman At The World´s Fair Of Science & Art In Fort Worth, Texas
• 06. The Call - A Duet Between Joseph "King" Oliver & Jelly Roll Morton
• 07. Light Garden In A Dream-Space, A Remembrance Of Shaba Of Ethiopia
• 08. Han Bennink On Fifth Avenue, NYC
• 09. Johnny Dyani, The Artist Who Imagined A New South Africa. A Celebration

• CD 4 with Jack DeJohnette - FREEDOM SUMMER, THE LEGACY
• 01. Sandalwood & Sage
• 02. Freedom Summer
• 03. Meditation: A Sonic Circle Of Double Piano Resonances
• 04. The Patriot Act, Unconstitutional & A Force That Destroys Democracy
• 05. Silence, Quietness & Very Still

• CD 5 with Jack DeJohnette - PARADISE: THE GARDENS & FOUNTAINS
• 01. Part I: The River Of Abundance
• 02. Part II: The Fountain Of Tasnim
• 03. Part III: The Supreme Fountain
• 04. Part IV: Exaltation & Musk
• 05. Part V: Pomegranates & Herbal Teas