Product Description A longtime dream project of Wadada Leo Smith, one of creative music's most original voices, Tzadik is proud to present the first recording by a modern jazz supergroup. The four instrumental giants that comprise the Golden Quartet are veterans of some of the most influential bands in jazz history and here they are at the height of their powers. Five new compositions bring together lyricism, groove and fireworks in this exciting recording destined to become a classic of new jazz. .com Enlisting drummer Jack DeJohnette and bassist Malachi Favors, trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith had to have been tempted to make Golden Quartet explode with grooves--especially with the CD's opener, titled "DeJohnette." Instead, pianist Anthony Davis and Smith keep the harmonic and melodic gears pulled loose so the band jangles and gets steam and then explodes, only to reset, disperse, and go wild again. Smith's Golden Quartet has the bearings and chops of a supergroup, undoubtedly, and they use their collective power forcefully and to great result--heading into thickets of spread-open space with expansive patience. They go from free-time ruminations to a fittingly sly march cadence on "Celestial Sky and All the Magic: A Memorial for Lester Bowie," and make "The Healer's Voyage on the Sacred River" a terrific modal ballad. It's not until the last tune, "America's Third Century Spiritual Awakening," that the quartet launches off, with DeJohnette locking into a rhythmic rumble that takes Smith skyward in a slurry, bright, and fast show of genius. Here's a band of veterans jelling anew and never sacrificing the collective good for the benefit of an individual. --Andrew Bartlett
