Divine Love is the first of only two albums trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith made for ECM as leader. Its cyclical feel invites repeat listening to appreciate the details. To be sure, Smith’s presence is palpable (in addition to horns, he plays steel-o-phone, gongs, and other percussion), but Dwight Andrews on flute and reeds is a revelation. The input of vibraphonist Bobby Naughton, bassist Charlie Haden, trumpeter Lester Bowie, and trumpeter Kenny Wheeler broadens the spotlight. The listener will be hard-pressed to find traction, wandering instead in every emotional corridor, knowing this is what real love is all about.

This 1978 album owes as much to chamber music as avant-garde jazz; Smith is a composer, a sculptor of sound and space, granting each equal weight. The extended title track floats on a cloud of marimba and vibraharp, while “Tastalun” brings in fellow trumpeters Lester Bowie and Kenny Wheeler for a three-way conversation full of fast, squiggling runs and upper-register squeals. It ends with “Spirituals: The Language of Love,” on which Charlie Haden’s bass is front and center, every creak of the wood clearly audible.