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 and
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;
Muhammad plays bass guitar and Rhodes; and
Younge appears on electric guitars, bass, synth, clavinet, vibraphone, and Hammond B-3. Drums are handled alternately by
Greg Paul and
Malachi Morehead. Soul and gospel singer
Loren Oden appears on four tracks.
Opener "Love Brings Happiness" is one of the
Oden showcases.
Smith's acoustic piano provides the modal frame as
Muhammad paints it with Fender Rhodes.
Younge sets up behind
Oden, playing fuzzy, bright, shard-like guitar fills that recall those of
Ernie Isely. Synths, clavinet, and vibes all appear in the dense mix.
Smith and
Oden 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
Younge) meet bass and breaking, syncopated drums.
Oden also appears on "Cosmic Changes."
Smith,
Younge, and
Paul offer an approach akin to the one
Smith employed on jazz and blues singer
Leon Thomas'
Spirits Known and Unknown. An open modal chord sequence introduces
Oden, who claims the poetic lyric, makes it soar, and meets the instrumentalists for mutual discovery.
Oden's last appearance is on "Love Can Be," which juxtaposes funky, cracking tom-toms, syncopated snares,
Smith's gorgeous Rhodes playing, and
Younge's B-3, synths, guitars, and horns. This is spiritual soul music at its best.
Oden's control and range naturally rise above the band's intimate, instinctual interplay. "Fete" is Latinized jazz fusion with a killer Rhodes solo from
Smith and a bumping bassline from
Muhammad, while
Younge 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
Smith's Rhodes framed by B-3, guitars, saxes, and synths, while
Morehead keeps them anchored and moving simultaneously. In "A New Spring,"
Oden'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
Lonnie Liston Smith JID017 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