If You Want the Kernels You Have to Break the Shells

If You Want the Kernels You Have to Break the Shells is an album by a free jazz trio consisting of German bassist Peter Kowald, American trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, and German drummer Günter Sommer, which was recorded live in 1981 and released on the German FMP label. The two tracks from the side A of the album were combined on the CD reissue with Touch the Earth, another album by the same trio.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
The Penguin Guide to Jazz

In his review for AllMusic, Thom Jurek states about the Touch the Earth - Break the Shells reissue "This is music of the mind, certainly, but it is also from the body and the earth itself. This is free jazz that sings!."

The JazzTimes review by John Murph says about the reissue "Both wild and peaceful, Touch The Earth-Break the Shells, is an invigorating post-Art Ensemble of Chicago experience."

The authors of the Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings wrote: "the overriding sense is of ego-less improvisation unburdened by ideology or by musical preconceptions."

Track listing

All compositions by Smith / Kowald / Sommer

"Unlost Time" – 7:58
"Rastafari in the Universe" – 11:55
"Break the Shells " – 17:53

Personnel

Peter Kowald – double bass
Wadada Leo Smith – trumpet, flugelhorn, flute, african thumb piano
Günter Sommer – drums, percussion, bells, organ pipes

References

"Wadada Leo Smith discography". Jazz Lists. jazzlists.com. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
If You Want the Kernels You Have to Break the Shells on FMP
^ Jurek, Thom. Peter Kowald – Touch the Earth - Break the Shells: Review at AllMusic. Retrieved August 15, 2017.
^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (1992). The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, LP and Cassette. Penguin Books. p. 634.
Shanley, Mike Touch the Earth - Break the Shells review at JazzTimes

v t e Wadada Leo Smith
Years given are for the recording(s), not first release, unless stated otherwise.
Studio albums	Creative Music - 1 (1971) Divine Love (1978) Solo Music: Ahkreanvention (1979) Budding of a Rose (1979) Spirit Catcher (1979) Human Rights (1982) Procession of the Great Ancestry (1983) Rastafari (1983) Kulture Jazz (1992) Tao-Njia (1995) Golden Hearts Remembrance (1997) Prataksis (1997) Light Upon Light (released 1999) Reflectativity (2000) Golden Quartet (2000) Lake Biwa (2000-2004) Red Sulphur Sky (2001) The Year of the Elephant (2002) Luminous Axis (2002) Snakish (2005) Compassion (2002) Wisdom in Time (2006) Dark Lady of the Sonnets (2007) America (2008) Abbey Road Quartet (2008) Heart's Reflections (released 2011) Ancestors (2011) Occupy the World (2012) Sonic Rivers (2013) Red Hill (2014) The Great Lakes Suites (2012) Celestial Weather (2012) Najwa (2014) Solo: Reflections and Meditations on Monk (2014 & 2015) A Cosmic Rhythm with Each Stroke (2015) Sacred Ceremonies (2015 & 2016) America's National Parks (2016)
Live albums	Reflectativity (1974) Song of Humanity (1976) The Mass on the World (1978) Touch the Earth (1979) Go in Numbers (1980) If You Want the Kernels You Have to Break the Shells (1981) The Blue Mountain's Sun Drummer (1986) Condor, Autumn Wind (1997) Organic Resonance (2003) Saturn, Conjunct the Grand Canyon in a Sweet Embrace (2003) Tabligh (2005) Spiritual Dimensions (2008 & 2009) Ten Freedom Summers (2011) June 6th 2013 (2013)
Compilations	Kabell Years: 1971–1979

v t e Peter Kowald
Years given are for the recording(s), not first release, unless stated otherwise.
Studio albums	Open Secrets (1988) Was Da Ist (1994) Deals, Ideas & Ideals (2000) Between Heaven and Earth (2001)
Live albums	Touch the Earth (1979) If You Want the Kernels You Have to Break the Shells (1981) Live at Kassiopeia (1987)

v t e Günter Sommer
Years given are for the recording(s), not first release, unless stated otherwise.
Studio albums	Between Heaven and Earth (2001) Wisdom in Time (2006)
Live albums	Touch the Earth (1979) If You Want the Kernels You Have to Break the Shells (1981) Pica Pica (1982) Irène Schweizer & Günter Sommer (1987) Riobec (1988) Bib (1992)

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