''Spiritual Dimensions'' is a double album by American jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith released on Cuneiform. The first disc is the fourth release by his Golden Ensemble, which began as a quartet but here expands into a quintet with two drummers, and was recorded live at the 2008

Vision Festival The Vision Festival is the world's premier festival of experimental music (typically free jazz/avant-garde jazz), art, film and dance, held annually in May/June on the Lower East Side of New York City from 1996 to 2011, in Brooklyn from 2012-2014, ...

in New York. The second disc is the first-ever release by Organic, an electric nine-piece band with four guitarists, and was recorded live in 2009 at the jazz club Firehouse 12 in New Haven, Connecticut.Wadada Leo Smith
at Cuneiform

Reception

In his review for AllMusic, arwulf arwulf notes that "Both ensembles combine swirling currents of ethereal mystery with funk tropes descended directly from the achievements of Miles Davis during the last 25 years of his life." The '' Down Beat'' review by Kirk Silsbee says "Smith shows a marked distillation in his playing and the frameworks he chooses. He plays in short bursts and phrases, made of brilliant tones, startling sounds, pungent runs and lyrical asides."Silsbee, Kirk. ''Spiritual Dimensions'' review. ''Down Beat'' April 10: page 58. Print. In a review for All About Jazz Jakob Baekgaard says "Smith creates a unique world of sound where rhythms are more than mere earthly creations, but rather something which aspires to a beauty of metaphysical proportions."Baekgaard, Jakob
''Spiritual Dimensions'' review
at All About Jazz Another review by Raul D'Gama Rose states "Every note trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith blows on his exquisite brass instrument brings a whole world of joy."D'Gama Rose, Raul
''Spiritual Dimensions'' review
at All About Jazz Meanwhile, Dan McClenaghan notes that "With the ambitious ''Spiritual Dimensions'', Wadada Leo Smith has created a strangely entrancing music, and one of his finest recordings."McClenaghan, Don
''Spiritual Dimensions'' review
at All About Jazz The '' PopMatters'' review by Will Layman states "Though Smith has never compromised his dedication to freely improvised music, his sound is engaging and easy to enjoy: tart, lyrical, often delicate, and always rich in the pregnant silences between notes. He is, in many respects, the greatest successor to Miles Davis in his use of silence, texture, and rhythm in jazz trumpet."Layman, Will
''Spiritual Dimensions'' review
at '' PopMatters'' The Point of Departure review by Stuart Broomer notes that "There’s plenty of depth and focus in his Golden Quintet, but the Organic concert seems to take the trumpeter to another level of interaction, with a band that's both more intense and more inventive. It's not to be missed."Broomer, Stuart
''Spiritual Dimensions'' review
at Point of Departure

Track listing

:''All compositions by Wadada Leo Smith'' ''Disc One'' # "Al-Shadhili's Litany of the Sea: Sunrise" - 12:57 # "Pacifica" - 5:49 # "Umar at the Dome of the Rock, parts 1 & 2" - 14:52 # "Crossing Sirat" - 6:21 # "South Central L.A. Kulture" - 15:42 ''Disc Two'' # "South Central L.A. Kulture" - 12:37 # "Angela Davis" - 19:18 # "Organic" - 18:07 # "Joy : Spiritual Fire : Joy" - 13:34

Personnel

''Golden Quintet'' (Dísc One) * Wadada Leo Smith - trumpet * Vijay Iyer - piano,

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

* John Lindberg -

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

* Pheeroan akLaff -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

* Don Moye - drums ''Organic'' (Dísc Two) *Wadada Leo Smith - trumpet * Michael Gregory (Jackson) - electric guitar (and producer of Disc Two) *Brandon Ross - electric guitar * Nels Cline - 6 and 12-string electric guitar *Lamar Smith - electric guitar (on 1 & 4) *Okkyung Lee - cello * Skúli Sverrisson - electric bass * John Lindberg - acoustic bass * Pheeroan akLaff - drums

References

{{Authority control 2009 live albums Wadada Leo Smith live albums Cuneiform Records live albums