Wadada Leo Smith

Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith is a trumpet-player, multi-instrumentalist, composer and improviser. He was born December 18, 1941, in Leland, Mississippi. His early musical life began in the high school concert and marching bands where he played drums, mellophone and French horn before he settled on the trumpet. At the age of thirteen, he became immersed within the Delta Blues and Improvisation music traditions. He receive…