Lonnie Liston Smith - Love Is the Answer

Styles: Vocal And Piano Jazz
Year: 1980
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:37
Size: 155,8 MB
Art: Front

(4:19)  1. In the Park
(4:46)  2. Love Is the Answer
(5:57)  3. Speak About It
(4:01)  4. Bridge Through Time
(5:46)  5. On the Real Side
(4:57)  6. The Enchantress
(6:05)  7. Give Peace a Chance (Make Love Not War)
(3:13)  8. Free and Easy
(7:06)  9. Space Princess (Special Disco Version)
(7:07) 10. A Song for the Children (Special Version of the 7inch Single)
(3:42) 11. Love Is the Answer (7inch Version)
(3:36) 12. Bridge Through Time (7inch Version)
(3:41) 13. Give Peace a Chance (Make Love Not War) (7inch Version)
(3:14) 14. Free and Easy (7inch Version)

Lonnie Liston Smith entered the 1980s with Love Is the Answer, which is quite similar to previous Columbia efforts like Exotic Mysteries and Song for the Children. Jazz's hard-liners continued to call Smith a sellout; as they saw it, a musician who was talented enough to have been employed by the likes of Pharoah Sanders, Betty Carter, and Rahsaan Roland Kirk had no business becoming more commercial and catering to the quiet storm audience. But while Love Is the Answer isn't as challenging as Smith's work with Kirk and Sanders and isn't in a class with such Flying Dutchman gems as Astral Traveling and Expansions, it isn't a bad album either. "The Enchantress," "Bridge Through Time" (which female rap group the Conscious Daughters sampled on their 1993 recording "We Roll Deep"), "In the Park," and other instrumentals on this LP aren't brilliant, but they're pleasant and likable. 

Love Is the Answer was the second Smith album to employ vocalist James "Crabbe" Robinson, who had replaced Donald Smith and is featured on the mellow title song as well as the funkier selections "Speak About It" and "Give Peace a Chance (Make Love Not War)." The charismatic Donald Smith was a tough act to follow, but Robinson handled himself nicely when he was a member of the Cosmic Echoes. While Love Is the Answer isn't among the pianist/keyboardist's essential releases, it isn't anything to be ashamed of either. ~ Alex Henderson https://www.allmusic.com/album/love-is-the-answer-mw0000916894

Personnel:  Piano, Electric Piano, Producer – Lonnie Liston Smith; Backing Vocals – Butch Jackson, Cassie Hawkins, Gloria Jones, Keith Rose, Marcella Allen;  Bass – Pee Wee Ford; Congas, Bongos – Lawrence Killian; Drums – Lino Reyes; Guitar – Abdul Wali; Horns – Albert "Duke" Jones, Johnathan Lewis, Kevin Jasper, Koran Daniels, Louis P. Barbarin; Percussion – Asante; Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Flute – Dave Hubbard; Vocals – James "Crabbe" Robinson

Love Is the Answer

---

Roland Kirk - Verve Jazz Masters 27

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1994
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:18
Size: 154,9 MB
Art: Front

(3:09)  1. Three For The Festival
(6:11)  2. Blue Rol
(5:19)  3. Reeds And Deeds
(3:34)  4. Hip Chops
(6:29)  5. From Bechet, Byas And Fats
(2:48)  6. Berkshire Blues
(5:17)  7. A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square
(4:01)  8. March On, Swan Lake
(3:39)  9. The Haunted Melody
(3:40) 10. Meeting On Termini's Corner
(3:49) 11. Rolando
(4:09) 12. Blues For Alice
(5:24) 13. Black Diamond
(2:28) 14. You Did It, You Did It
(4:09) 15. Where Monk And Mingus Live / Let's Call This
(3:05) 16. Blues For C &

Rahsaan Roland Kirk's volume in Verve's Jazz Masters series is a distillation of the ten-disc Complete Mercury Recordings set. It covers the '60s with an emphasis on 1961-1962, and includes many of the best selections from Kirk LPs like Rip, Rig and Panic, We Free Kings, and Domino.

Those separate albums should be of more interest to fans, leaving this disc as an adequate collection for beginners or those unsure of where to start. ~ John Bush https://www.allmusic.com/album/verve-jazz-masters-27-mw0000120079

Personnel:  Rahsaan Roland Kirk - Tenor Saxophone, Flute;  Lonnie Liston Smith, Hank Jones, Harold Mabern - Piano;  Charli Persip - Drums;  Percy Heath, Wendell Marshall - Bass;  Bobby Bryan - Trumpet.

Verve Jazz Masters 27

---

Gato Barbieri - Under Fire

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:47
Size: 81.9 MB
Styles: Latin jazz
Year: 1971/2016
Art: Front

[9:08] 1. El Parana
[4:51] 2. Yo Le Canto A La Luna
[3:51] 3. Antonico
[9:35] 4. Maria Domingas
[8:20] 5. El Sertao

Under Fire is Gato Barbieri in his early-'70s prime, when the Argentinean tenorman's transition from the avant-garde to exploring his South American continental routes still hadn't passed beyond the pale into flaccid fusion. He's joined by a pretty stellar band: his regular pianist Lonnie Liston Smith (before he fuzaked out), Airto Moreira and James Mtume on drums and percussion, the veteran Roy Haynes guesting on "El Parana," a young John Abercrombie on guitar and Stanley Clarke in his young lion-of-acoustic-bass phase.

Barbieri floats in the background of "El Parana" before kicking into the song proper at an accelerated tempo. More than improvising per se, his trademark was the emotionally charged sonic stamp he put on the melody (check the intro to the ballad "Yo Le Canto a la Luna," where Barbieri sounds like he's aiming to blow down walls) that made clichés like "Latin passion and fire" sound like, well, the real deal. It also provides a good counterpoint to the exuberant playing of the group -- Smith's solo shows the impact of his years with Pharoah Sanders, but it's Clarke and the rhythm section that really drive the piece while Abercrombie tosses in fills here and there.

"Antonico" features double-tracked Barbieri and the strongest improvisation (so far) at the end, while Brazilian songwriter Jorge Ben's "Maria Domingas" fades in with a full head of steam thanks to Abercrombie and Clarke dueling over Moreira and Mtume. Barbieri's echoed yelps give way to a deeply lyrical sax melody -- he does a lot of similar dynamic shifts here -- before Abercrombie's guitar comps re-start the up-tempo with Clarke effortlessly loping on as the octave-leaping anchor for Barbieri's searing statement of the theme. "El Sertao" opens with Barbieri squeaks over Smith's echoed Fender Rhodes trills, a Clarke foundation riff, and Abercrombie's comps before Barbieri enters full-force. The music stays light and buoyant before another downtempo shift builds to a climatic coda with Clarke shining.

Even the longer pieces are over before you know it so, although Under Fire doesn't quite match the charged intensity of Fenix or El Pampero, it leaves you wishing for two things. First, that there were outtakes to include here because you never come close to getting tired of the music -- double the music would mean double the fun. And what a shame that Carlos Santana, who was just entering his Devadip phase, never recorded with Barbieri at this point in their careers because that combination had the potential to create some pretty incredible music. ~Don Snowden

Under Fire

---

Lonnie Liston Smith - Astral Traveling

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1973
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:28
Size: 138,9 MB
Art: Front

(5:33)  1. Astral Traveling
(6:21)  2. Let Us Go Into The House Of The Lord
(5:33)  3. Rejuvenation
(6:11)  4. I Mani (Faith)
(7:18)  5. In Search Of Truth
(4:35)  6. Aspirations
(5:41)  7. Astral Traveling (Alternate Take)
(6:38)  8. Rejuvination (Alternate Take)
(6:04)  9. Imani (Alternate Take)
(6:29) 10. In Search Of Truth (Alternate Take)

For many jazz fans, pianist Lonnie Liston Smith irredeemably blotted his copy book decades ago. Right enough, for Smith's smooth jazz and quiet storm albums of the 1980s and 1990s were bland, blissed-out, insubstantial affairs. But between 1965, when he was featured on saxophonist (Rahsaan) Roland Kirk's Here Comes The Whistleman (Atlantic), and the early 1970s, when he was a member of trumpeter Miles Davis' electric group, Smith was not only on the page, he was helping to write it.  From 1969-73, Smith was a key player in the astral jazz movement led by pianist/harpist Alice Coltrane and saxophonist Pharoah Sanders. It was Sanders who made the first fully-formed astral jazz album, his Bob Thiele-produced Impulse! debut, Tauhid (1967). Smith was featured as pianist (and occasional co-arranger) on five Sanders albums: Izipho Zam (Strata-East, 1969) and Impulse!'s Karma (1969), Jewels Of Thought (1970), Summun Bukmun Umyun (1970) and Thembi (1971). Smith did not work with Coltrane: she played all the piano she needed, plus the harp and Wurlitzer organ. In Sanders' bands, Smith approximated the sweeping harp and piano glissandos which were emblematic of Coltrane's spin on astral jazz. He also added block chord accompaniments more redolent of McCoy Tyner (an early influence), and fit into the music's hummable melodies and vamp- and ostinato-driven grooves like they were made for him.

With Sanders, Smith played a supporting role, but an important one. The trouble, the intimations of quiet storm, came when Smith started leading his own band, the Cosmic Echoes. Well, not exactly when he started. The group's debut, Astral Traveling produced by Thiele for Flying Dutchman, the label he set up on leaving Impulse! in 1969 was rooted in the sound of Sanders' bands. Revisited almost 40 years later, it still has weight.  Astral Traveling leads off with two tunes associated with Sanders: the title track, written by Smith, which Sanders and Smith had recorded on Thembi, and "Let Us Go Into The House Of The Lord," a traditional gospel tune which they had recorded on Summun Bukmun Umyun, where it had been arranged by Smith. George Barron, the Cosmic Echoes' saxophonist, is not in Sanders' league, technically or conceptually, but his soprano is pleasing enough on both tracks. His multiphonic tenor solo on "I Mani (Faith)" is more memorable. Smith, who is mainly heard on acoustic piano, solos infrequently, and approaches Astral Traveling much as he did Sanders' albums: embellishing the melodies and subsuming himself in the collective groove.  

The other musicians anchored by bassist Cecil McBee (a frequent member of Sanders' lineups) and drummer David Lee Jr drive the ostinatos and add color. There are three percussionists, including conga player James Mtume and tabla player Badal Roy (both Sanders alumni), and on "In Search Of Truth" (at 7:08, the longest track), Geeta Vashi is heard on tamboura, astral jazz's signature instrument. At no point does Astral Traveling reach the heights of Sanders' or Coltrane's contemporaneous albums, but on "Rejuvenation," "I Mani (Faith)" and "In Search Of Truth" it gets close enough. 

Recent CD reissues have included alternate takes of all three tracks. Anyone bitten by the astral jazz bug is sure to find plenty to enjoy on the disc. Sad then, that Smith's subsequent Flying Dutchman releases moved steadily towards smooth jazz and cocktail funk. 1974's Cosmic Funk had its moments, as did, to a lesser extent, the same year's Expansions. But by the time the synths and disco beats moved in, on 1975's Visions, it was bye-bye Lonnie Liston Smith for most of the jazz world. (A half dozen Pharoah Sanders/Alice Coltrane albums of the early/mid 1970s were reissued in October 2011 in Impulse!'s 2-on-1 series and are reviewed here). ~ Chris May  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/lonnie-liston-smith-astral-traveling-lonnie-liston-smith-by-chris-may.php

Personnel: Lonnie Liston Smith: piano, electric piano; George Barron: soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone; Joe Beck: guitar; Cecil McBee: bass; David Lee Jr.: drums; Sonny Morgan: percussion, conga; James Mtume: percussion, conga; Badal Roy: tabla; Geeta Vashi: tamboura.

Astral Traveling

---

Lonnie Liston Smith & The Cosmic Echoes - Cosmic Funk

Styles:  Post-Bop, Jazz Fusion
Year: 1974
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:10
Size: 85,4 MB
Art: Front

(5:39)  1. Cosmic Funk
(6:11)  2. Footprints
(6:58)  3. Beautiful Woman
(8:16)  4. Sais (Egypt)
(5:03)  5. Peaceful Ones
(4:01)  6. Naima

As Dean Rudland points out in Ace's 2014 reissue of Lonnie Liston Smith's 1974 set Cosmic Funk, Smith himself views this LP as a transitional effort, capturing him between his pioneering work with Miles Davis' electric group and the exploratory Expansions. This suggests it perhaps isn't a cohesive album and, true enough, it's a record where the good ideas are sometimes suggested rather than developed. Much of the record showcases the smooth vocal stylings of Smith's brother Donald, who leads on a vocal version of John Coltrane's "Naima," lends a bit of a supper club vibe to "Beautiful Woman," croons through "Peaceful Ones," and dives into the thick, overlapping grooves of the title track. That opening song is one of the few tracks that emphasizes funk, otherwise the cosmic reigns, as the group usually getting spacy all the while never quite leaving the earth. Although the group is quite lively on a relatively straight-ahead reading of Wayne Shorter's "Footprints," the album is distinguished by the spaces that lie between funk and bop, the periods where Smith and company start to float, then pull themselves back. ~ Thomas Erlewine  http://www.allmusic.com/album/cosmic-funk-mw0000172115

Personnel: Lonnie Liston Smith (piano, electric piano, percussion); Donald Smith (vocals, piano, flute); George Barron (soprano saxophone, flute, percussion); Al Anderson (electric bass); Art Gore (drums); Lawrence Killian (congas, percussion); Doug Hammond, Andrew Cyrille, Ron Bridgewater (percussion).

Cosmic Funk

---

Lonnie Liston Smith And The Cosmic Echoes - Renaissance

Styles: Post-Bop, Jazz Fusion
Year: 1976
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:01
Size: 82,9 MB
Art: Front

(6:45)  1. Space Lady
(6:10)  2. Mardi Gras (Carnival)
(5:24)  3. Starlight and You
(5:52)  4. Mongotee
(4:12)  5. A Song of Love
(2:38)  6. Between Here and There
(4:59)  7. Renaissance

With a jacket adorned by mystical symbols of every faith and tribe Smith could think of, Renaissance is a pleasant paean to Peace, Love and Understanding that goes down easily and almost tracelessly. Smith doubles on acoustic piano and Rhodes electric piano, the latter often tarted up by gentle period Echoplex effects, and brother Donald Smith provides ethereal flute and occasional vocals. The Smiths are at their most ingratiating when sailing along in a semi-Brazilian groove on "Mardi Gras" and "A Song of Love" that pre-echoes a similar direction that Pat Metheny would take. Otherwise, the mildly spacy funk patterns and lightweight age of Aquarius atmosphere rise not too far above the level of hip '70s makeout music. Still, you could do a lot, lot worse in that genre. ~ Richard S. Ginell  http://www.allmusic.com/album/renaissance-mw0000464626

Personnel: Lonnie Liston Smith (vocals, guitar, piano, electric piano, electronics); Donald Smith (vocals, flute); Gene Bertoncini (guitar, acoustic guitar); Dave Hubbard (flute, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone); Leon Pendarvis (Clarinet); Kenneth Bichel (synthesizer, Moog synthesizer); Wilby Fletcher (drums); Lawrence Killian (congas); Guilherme Franco (percussion).

Renaissance

---

Lonnie Liston Smith - Love Goddess

Styles: R&B
Year: 1990
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:47
Size: 142,5 MB
Art: Front

(5:58)  1. Love Goddess
(5:04)  2. Obsession
(7:45)  3. Heaven
(4:47)  4. Giving You The Best That I Got
(6:29)  5. Star Flower
(3:23)  6. Monk's Mood
(3:58)  7. I'm Your Melody
(5:05)  8. Don't Write Checks That Your Body Can't Cash
(5:58)  9. Dance Floor
(3:57) 10. Blue In Green
(4:19) 11. Blue Bossa
(4:58) 12. A Child Is Born

At his best, Lonnie Liston Smith has been a wealth of imagination and creativity...Sometimes engaging...this erratic CD ranges from radio-oriented Muzak to strong post-bop jazz. Smith excels as an acoustic trio pianist on very lyrical and warm interpretations of Kenny Dorham's "Blue Bossa," Miles Davis' "Blue in Green" and Thad Jones' "A Child Is Born." Much of the CD, however, contains...pop/R&B/jazz that seems more concerned with commercial radio airplay, such as a note-for-note cover of Anita Baker's "Giving You the Best That I Got." For consistently excellent listening, a much wiser investment would be Astral Traveling, Expansions or the acoustic trio gem Make Someone Happy. ~ Alex Henderson   

http://www.allmusic.com/album/love-goddess-mw0000308730

Love Goddess

---

Kresten Osgood - Hammond Rens (2-disc set)

Kresten Osgood? A no-name for you? Don't worry, even most Danes haven't heard about this fantastic local drummer. Even maestro drummer Ed Thigpen, who lives in Copenhagen, has called him a "genius drummer". It's known in the jazz community that Osgood adores the "No. 1 jazz furniture", the Hammond B-3 organ, to use his own words, so why not make a double CD with an organ trio on your own label. And Osgood even goes for gold medal - and calls Dr. Lonnie Smith for organ duty on this great live CD - "Hammond Rens" (English - Hammond Refine), recorded at The Copenhagen Jazz House in 2002. This CD capture some of the most free wheelin' jazz organ trio's I've heard in many years and there seems to be no end to the musical styles that the Doctor can cover with great imagination, technique and power play. The trio is completed with the tenor saxophonist Mikael Blake which is a real surprise given his roots from the more free jazz oriented community and not to forget Anders Provis on some tracks with playing "the fine art of Ghost percussion" (!?!). What can you expect from this CD? According to Smith's opening statement on track 1, you can expect music from the HEART. Funk, blues, free, ballads, boogaloo, swing; you get it all through great combo interpretation on tunes by Lucky Thompson, Curtis Mayfield, Roland Kirk, Slide Hampton and Osgood himself (showing promising compositional skills). This is not background music - turn up the volume and when the laser beam hits "Collins", and you're warned about what to expect for the next 11 tunes being like in the middle of the audience close to Smiths heavy organ bass lines, imaginative block chord comping and soulful melody lines support by Osgoods inventive drumming. Highlights after highlights are served by these gentlemen on this quality live recording, only the cd cover would have deserved better overall design. Altogether 160 minutes of soul, sweat and (no) tears worth every cent. Highly recommended!!

Kresten Osgood (drums); Michael Blake (saxophone); Lonnie Liston Smith (Hammond b-3 organ).

Album: Hammond Rens (Disc 1)
Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 76:57
Size: 176.1 MB
Styles: Organ jazz, Soul-jazz
Year: 2004
Art: Front

[11:37] 1. Collins
[12:14] 2. The World Awakes
[ 7:39] 3. The Makings Of You
[23:52] 4. Three For Dizzy
[20:33] 5. London Pride
[ 0:59] 6. Rahsaan Take A Break From The Choir Of Angels To Jam A Little

Hammond Rens (Discs 1&2 combined) Yara's link
Hammond Rens (Disc 1)

---

Album: Hammond Rens (Disc 2)
Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 78:46
Size: 180.3 MB
Styles: Organ jazz, Soul-jazz
Year: 2004
Art: Front

[13:57] 1. I'm Black
[16:18] 2. Chop Suey
[10:14] 3. The Beat-Up Blues
[16:52] 4. Baby Let Me Take You (In My Arms)
[21:22] 5. Like Lonnie

Hammond Rens (Discs 1&2 combined) Yara's link
Hammond Rens (Disc 2)

---