''Luminous Axis'' (subtitled ''The Caravans of Winter and Summer'') is an album by American jazz trumpeter

Wadada Leo Smith Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith (born December 18, 1941) is an American trumpeter and composer, working primarily in the field of creative music. He was one of three finalists for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Music for ''Ten Freedom Summers'', released on ...

which was recorded in 2002 and released on the

Tzadik Records Tzadik is a record label in New York City that specializes in avant-garde and experimental music. The label was established by composer and saxophonist John Zorn in 1995. He is the executive producer of all Tzadik releases. Tzadik is a not-for-p ...

' Composer Series. The album includes an extended suite for four laptops and trumpet, two duets with

Ikue Mori (born 17 December 1953), also known as Ikue Ile, is a drummer, electronic musician, composer, and graphic designer. Mori was awarded a "Genius grant" from the MacArthur Foundation in 2022. Biography Ikue Mori was born and raised in Japan. She sa ...

and a composition featuring the percussionist

William Winant William Winant (born 1953) is an American percussionist. In addition to his work in contemporary classical music—notably performing Lou Harrison's compositions—Winant has worked in a variety of genres, including noise rock, free improvisation ...

.''Luminous Axis''
at Tzadik

Reception

In his review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, arwulf arwulf notes, "Wadada Leo Smith is a master of improvisation who balances sound and silence with a combination of theatrical freedom and ritualistic discipline that can be breathtaking." ''

The Penguin Guide to Jazz ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled b ...

'' says, "A suite of miniatures and longer improvisations, with the trumpet keening out across spare, almost subliminal electronics background." The ''

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

'' review by Farrell Lowe states, "''Luminous Axis'' should draw emphatic interest from listeners curious about the exploration of modern compositional style and performance. It's simply brilliant."Lowe, Farrell
''Luminous Axis'' review
at

Track listing

All compositions by Wadada Leo Smith # "Garden of the Heart" – 5:20 # "Perfect Essence" – 0:33 # "Radiant Light Gushing from the Sun" – 2:37 # "Night Splendor, A Certain Moon Flow" – 1:25 # "Tango" – 0:45 # "Beauty" – 0:15 # "Fountain (Inmortality)" – 4:28 # "Garden of the Soul" – 3:50 # "Apples, Dates and Pomegranates" – 1:27 # "Light, Ginger, Olives and Musk" – 2:35 # "Harp: A Gleaming Sama" – 2:17 # "Fountain (Lore)" – 5:08 # "Camphor" – 3:52 # "Caravans of Winter and Summer" – 15:15 # "The Traveler" – 4:58

Personnel

–

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

and

flugelhorn The flugelhorn (), also spelled fluegelhorn, flugel horn, or flügelhorn, is a brass instrument that resembles the trumpet and cornet, but has a wider, more conical bore. Like trumpets and cornets, most flugelhorns are pitched in B♭, though ...

with electronics * John Bischoff,

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. A Pop music, pop and hip-hop-influenced contemporary R&B, R&B musician who works in a variety of genres, he has been called the "Honorific nic ...

Tim Perkis Tim Perkis is an experimental musician and writer who works with live electronic and computer sound. Discography "Boundary Layer" 2008 The Hub with John Bischoff, Chris Brown, Tim Perkis, Scot Gresham-Lancaster, Phil Stone. Tzadik Records (N ...

Mark Trayle Mark Trayle, born Mark Evan Garrabrant (January 17, 1955, in San Jose, California – February 18, 2015, in Ventura, California) was a California-based musician and sound artist working in a variety of media including live electronic music, impro ...

– computer-driven electronics *

–

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

References

{{Authority control 2002 albums Wadada Leo Smith albums Tzadik Records albums