1979 · Album
Divine Love
Recorded September 1978 · ECM · Produced by Not specified in verified sources
Smith Conducts His Vision Through Willing Voices
Smith opens the field through the authority of his players, each receiving colorful possibilities with unguarded openness.
Dwight Andrews and Bobby Naughton are the core of what makes Divine Love work. Smith assembled them as his primary collaborators — multi-instrumentalists who could follow his conducting hand across shifting harmonic territory without needing explanation. This is a leader thinking in trio textures, letting two voices respond to one, building conversations instead of monologues. Andrews and Naughton don't play Smith's compositions so much as inhabit them, expanding possibilities he deliberately leaves open.
The album gains weight from guest appearances by Lester Bowie and Kenny Wheeler on trumpet, and Charlie Haden on bass, but the real substance sits in that core trio. Smith acts as conductor, soloist, and architect — he sketches the emotional landscape and trusts his players to color it their own way. This isn't a sideman album dressed up as a leader's record. The relationships matter more than the headlines. Naughton's percussion work gives the music breathing room instead of propulsion; Andrews meets Smith's lines with curiosity rather than agreement. Thom Jurek in his AllMusic review caught this dynamic exactly: Smith's 'evolution of such an alive, complex music seems a remarkable achievement of intellect and technique, yet the music is thoroughly graceful and the resulting sensations all pleasurable.' DownBeat's four-star rating affirmed what listeners who stayed with the album discovered — this is patient, intelligent playing that rewards attention.
Who's playing
Charlie Hadendouble bass
Lester Bowietrumpet
Kenny Wheelertrumpet
Bobby Naughtonpercussion
Dwight Andrewsinstrument
Wadada Leo Smithinstrument
Where next?
More by Wadada Leo Smith
Saturn, Conjunct the Grand Canyon in a Sweet Embrace 2004
Organic Resonance 2003
Lake Biwa 2004
Wisdom in Time 2007
The musicians on this record
Folk Songs 1981
Charlie Haden
plays double bass here
plays double bass here
The Great Pretender 1981
Lester Bowie
plays trumpet here
plays trumpet here
