A Cosmic Rhythm with Each Stroke

A Cosmic Rhythm with Each Stroke is an album by trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith and pianist Vijay Iyer which was released in March 2016 on ECM Records.

Reception
At Metacritic, that assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 82, based on seven reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".

Thom Jurek in his review for Allmusic says that: "The instincts these players offer in these works display the duo's mutual desire for intimate communication and spiritual trust through the medium of sound. Their uncompromising movement toward them results in a shared musical mind that speaks in a distinctive, unique emotional language."

They also selected it as one of their Favorite Jazz Albums of 2016.

In The Guardian, John Fordham gave this album four stars and says that: "Smith’s tone and phrasing often reflect mid-period Miles Davis, but he blends free jazz into those resources with a unique poetic focus. Long high squeals and tumbling unfold over Iyer’s humming electronics, a bright brass fanfare soars over a chordal rumble, and a lamenting muted-trumpet descent invokes Sketches of Spain. Iyer mostly functions as a discreet foil, but this intimate conversation swells from interesting to enthralling as it unfolds."

Track listing
ECM Records – ECM 2420.

Personnel

 * Vijay Iyer – piano, fender rhodes, electronics
 * Wadada Leo Smith – trumpet