Lake Biwa (album)

Lake Biwa is a studio album by jazz trumpeter and composer Wadada Leo Smith released on John Zorn's Tzadik label in 2004.^[1][2] The album contains four pieces composed between 2000 and 2004.

Lake Biwa
Studio album by Wadada Leo Smith
Released	November 2004
Studio	Avatar, New York City
Genre	Avant-garde jazz
Length	69:34
Label	Tzadik TZ 8008
Producer	Wadada Leo Smith
Wadada Leo Smith chronology
Kabell Years: 1971-1979 (2004) Lake Biwa (2004) Saturn, Conjunct the Grand Canyon in a Sweet Embrace (2004)

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[3]
Penguin Guide to Jazz	[4]
Tom Hull	B+[5]

The Allmusic review states: "Lake Biwa is a delight, and is full of invention. The players here perform the work's written and improvised sections with a determined sense of attack that also includes warmth, humor, and the desire for collective discovery".^[3] Writing for All About Jazz, Kurt Gottschalk commented "Over four pieces ranging from 10 to 25 minutes, the ensemble truly is an orchestra. When called upon to step forward, the voices of Ribot and Zorn especially are unmistakable. But the rest of the time, the group breathes together like an orchestra rather than a session group group reading charts. The compositions themselves are both serious and exciting and violinist Jennifer Choi (a regular performer of Zorn's compositions) especially shines".^[6]

Track listing

All compositions by Wadada Leo Smith.

1. "Lake Biwa; A Fullmoon Purewater Gold" - 11:14
2. "Sinai's Enclosed Garden of the Truth" - 23:50
3. "Diamondback Serpent in a House Full of Water and Still Rising" - 16:00
4. "Africana World" - 18:30

Personnel

• Wadada Leo Smith - trumpet
• John Zorn - alto saxophone
• Marcus Rojas - tuba
• Jennifer Choi - violin
• Erik Friedlander - cello
• Marc Ribot - guitar
• Anthony Coleman, Yuko Fujiyama, Jamie Saft, Craig Taborn - piano
• Wes Brown, John Lindberg - bass
• Gerald Cleaver, Susie Ibarra, Kwaku Kwaakye Obeng - drums