11190 - DR. LONNIE SMITH - EVOLUTION (2016)
DR. LONNIE SMITH
''EVOLUTION''
JANUARY 29 2016
63:20
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1 Play It Back (featuring Robert Glasper) 14:04
2 Afrodesia (featuring Joe Lovano) 08:20
3 For Heaven's Sake (featuring Joe Lovano) 05:51
4 Straight No Chaser 06:42 (Thelonious Monk)
5 Talk About This 07:19
6 My Favorite Things 11:09 (Oscar Hammerstein II, Richard Rodgers)
7 African Suite 09:52
Tracks By Dr. Lonnie Smith, Except 4, 6
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Jonathan Blake/Drums
Maurice Brown/Trumpet
Joe Dyson/Drums
Robert Glasper/Featured Artist, Piano
Keyon Harrold/Trumpet
Peter Jessen/Soprano
John Ellis/Clarinet (Bass), Flute, Sax (Tenor)
Jonathan Kreisberg/Guitar
Francois Louis/Mouthpiece
Joe Lovano/Sax (Soprano), Sax (Tenor)
Dr. Lonnie Smith/Arranger, Keyboards, Organ (Hammond)
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REVIEW/AMG
Matt Collar
Since Hammond B-3 specialist Lonnie Smith left Blue Note in the '70s, the largely self-taught musician has added the "Dr." to his name, adopted a traditional Sikh turban as a distinctive, if enigmatic style choice (it's unclear if he follows the religion), and continued to release a steady stream of highly regarded soulful well before the 21st century came around. With 2016's Evolution, Smith returns to Blue Note, his first studio album for the label since 1970's Drives. Produced by Don Was, Evolution is one of the most robust albums of his career. Where his previous few albums found him working in a trio format, on Evolution, Was surrounds Smith with various small group configurations featuring a bevy of post-bop, funk, and soul-ready musicians including drummers Jonathan Blake and Joe Dyson, guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg, trumpeters Keyon Harrold and Maurice Brown, and others. Also joining Smith here are several jazz luminaries including genre-bending pianist Robert Glasper, whose glassy piano tone rubs nicely against Smith's burnished Hammond warmth on "Play It Back." Similarly, saxophonist Joe Lovano, who first made his debut on Smith's 1975 effort Afrodesia, joins in on several cuts, including a reworking of "Afrodesia" and the slow-jam ballad "For Heaven's Sake." While Smith is the star of Evolution, the expanding group sound works well with his expansive approach to funk-jazz and the cuts with Harrold and Brown bring to mind the energetic hip-hop-inflected jazz of the Roots. Ultimately, it's Smith's juicy, nuanced, Hammond B-3 sound, deepened by over 50 years of experience, that makes Evolution such a career pinnacle.
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BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Alex Henderson
Alligator Boogaloo
Organist Lonnie Smith has often been confused with keyboardist/pianist Lonnie Liston Smith -- and, in fact, more than a few retailers have wrongly assumed that they're one and the same. In the mid-'60s, the Hammond hero earned recognition for his membership in George Benson's classic quartet before going on to play with Lou Donaldson (contributing some memorable solos to the alto saxman's hit 1967 album Alligator Bogaloo) and recording enjoyable dates of his own for Blue Note. For all their accessibility and commercial appeal, funk-influenced Smith sessions like 1968's Think and 1970's Drives showed that he could be quite imaginative.
Smith, who later became Dr. Lonnie Smith (for "no particular reason," the same reason he gives for why he always wears a traditional Sikh turban), remained an inspired representative of soul-jazz, releasing his own albums like 1993's Afro Blue, and continuing his long association with Donaldson.
Boogaloo to Beck: A Tribute
The 21st century saw him step up the pace, releasing several albums, including a tribute to Beck, 2003's Boogaloo to Beck; an album of reworked and modernized jazz standards, 2006's Jungle Soul; and 2009's Rise Up! Smith and his trio members -- Jonathan Kreisberg, guitar; Jamire Williams, drums -- continued a relentless and tireless touring and recording schedule; he issued Spiral on 2010 on Palmetto with Matt Balitsaris producing. The live album, Healer, followed in 2012.
Evolution
In 2016, Smith delivered the Don Was-produced Evolution. Smith's first album for Blue Note since 1970's Drives, it featured guest appearances from saxophonist Joe Lovano, pianist Robert Glasper, and others.
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WEBSITE
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