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Tao-Njia is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith which was recorded in 1995 and released on the Tzadik Records' Composer Series.[1]

Tao-Njia
Studio album by Wadada Leo Smith
Released	1996
Recorded	November 17 & December 14, 1995
Studio	Capital Recording, Los Angeles, CalArts, Valencia, California
Genre	Jazz
Length	43:00
Label	Tzadik
Producer	Wadada Leo Smith
Wadada Leo Smith chronology
Kulture Jazz (1993) Tao-Njia (1996) Golden Hearts Remembrance (1997)

Music

"Another Wave More Waves" is performed by Smith's ensemble N'Da Kulture. "Double Thunderbolt" is a composition in six movements created as a memorial for Don Cherry with poetry by Smith's wife, Harumi Makino Smith. On the title track, the trumpeter is backed by the California E.A.R. Unit, a chamber ensemble conducted by Stephen "Lucky" Mosko.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz	[3]
Down Beat	[4]
Tom Hull	B[5]

In her review for AllMusic, Joslyn Layne states "Incorporating personal philosophy and beliefs into his compositions through mood and accompanying texts, Smith creates a warm album of spiritual instrumental music."[2]

The Penguin Guide to Jazz notes "Recent years have seen Smith personally and musically involved with Oriental culture, and this is strongly reflected in Tao-Njia. Acoustically, it is one of his most remarkable records, a rich montage of sounds that are at once new and immediately familiar."[3]

The Down Beat review by John Corbett says "Tao Njia's three pieces are gentle, deceptively spacious compositions loaded with the gestural oomph of a master calligrapher. One might call them 'chamberish,' but that would be to miss their stylistic breadth, their Asian classical overtones and the force of Smith's soloing."[4]

Track listing

All compositions by Wadada Leo Smith

1. "Another Wave More Waves" - 9:30
2. "Double Thunderbolt: Memorial for Don Cherry" - 12:14
3. "Tao-Njia" - 21:16

Personnel

• Wadada Leo Smith - trumpet, flugelhorn, bamboo flute, nohkan, axatse, monophony-bar, Indian low bell, Japanese high bell, pre-recorded mbira
• David Philipson - two low drums, frame drums, bansuri, axatse, Tibetan temple bells
• Mika Noda - vibraphone, tubular bells, timpani
• Harumi Makino Smith - poetry
• Dorothy Stone - flute, alto flute, piccolo
• Martin Walker - clarinet, bass clarinet
• Vicki Ray - piano, celesta
• Robin Lorentz - violin
• Erika Duke - cello
• Stephen Lucky Mosko - conductor

References

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