Lonnie Liston Smith JID017 in Bloomington, MN

Lonnie Liston Smith
is the latest jazz-funk icon to be tempted back into the studio by
Jazz Is Dead
's
Adrian Younge
and
Ali Shaheed Muhammad
. His 1970s
Flying Dutchman
recordings with
the Cosmic Echoes
offered a different approach to the jazz-rock fusion of the time. Deeply interested in Eastern and African spirituality, the keyboardist created a sweetly soulful brand of jazz fusion where R&B and funk held sway over rock. Before
Lonnie Liston Smith JID017
, he hadn't released an album since 1998's underrated
Transformation
. The musically savvy partnership of
Muhammad
Younge
talked him into headlining their live Black History Month series in February 2020, before COVID locked down the planet. The duo re-enlisted him in 2022 for this nine-track set at their studio.
Smith
plays Fender Rhodes and acoustic piano;
plays bass guitar and Rhodes; and
appears on electric guitars, bass, synth, clavinet, vibraphone, and Hammond B-3. Drums are handled alternately by
Greg Paul
Malachi Morehead
. Soul and gospel singer
Loren Oden
appears on four tracks.
Opener "Love Brings Happiness" is one of the
Oden
showcases.
's acoustic piano provides the modal frame as
paints it with Fender Rhodes.
sets up behind
, playing fuzzy, bright, shard-like guitar fills that recall those of
Ernie Isely
. Synths, clavinet, and vibes all appear in the dense mix.
find their way onto another musical plane, pushing each other into the improv stratosphere. "Dawn" is a breezy, soulful instrumental wherein electric guitars, piano, synths, and saxes (played by
) meet bass and breaking, syncopated drums.
also appears on "Cosmic Changes."
,
, and
Paul
offer an approach akin to the one
employed on jazz and blues singer
Leon Thomas
'
Spirits Known and Unknown
. An open modal chord sequence introduces
, who claims the poetic lyric, makes it soar, and meets the instrumentalists for mutual discovery.
's last appearance is on "Love Can Be," which juxtaposes funky, cracking tom-toms, syncopated snares,
's gorgeous Rhodes playing, and
's B-3, synths, guitars, and horns. This is spiritual soul music at its best.
's control and range naturally rise above the band's intimate, instinctual interplay. "Fete" is Latinized jazz fusion with a killer Rhodes solo from
and a bumping bassline from
, while
buoys the proceedings on tenor and soprano saxophones and
Morehead
brings the syncopation and funk. "What May Come" is a dramatic exercise in modal fusion with
's Rhodes framed by B-3, guitars, saxes, and synths, while
keeps them anchored and moving simultaneously. In "A New Spring,"
's wordless hovering, swooping vocals are framed by Mellotron, Rhodes piano, and bubbling, syncopated drums and bass.
So many of the composer/pianist's stylistic trademarks are on display that
may be the best series entry in capturing the most important, recognizable elements of the artist's influential core sound and showcasing them as quite relevant. It's a lovely, affirming album that is well worth seeking out. ~ Thom Jurek