{"title":"Dr. Lonnie Smith","description":"\u003cp\u003eBorn Lonnie Smith on 3 July 1942 in Lackawanna, New York, a suburb of Buffalo, Dr. Lonnie Smith was a Hammond B3 jazz organist and composer whose career spanned over five decades, featured on more than 70 albums. His mother introduced him to gospel, blues, and jazz at an early age, and he sang in several vocal groups in the 1950s. In the late 1950s, Art Kubera, owner of a local music store, gave young Lonnie his first organ. He learned by immersing himself in records by Wild Bill Davis, Bill Doggett, and Jimmy Smith, as well as paying attention to the church organ. His first gigs were at Buffalo's Pine Grill jazz club, where he garnered attention from Jack McDuff, Lou Donaldson, and George Benson. Benson enlisted Smith for his quartet and they relocated to New York, quickly establishing a reputation in Harlem clubs. After appearing on several Benson albums for Columbia, Smith made his leader debut \u003cem\u003eFinger Lickin' Good\u003c\/em\u003e (Columbia, 1966-67). He was then recruited by Lou Donaldson to record for Blue Note, appearing on the million-selling \u003cem\u003eAlligator Boogaloo\u003c\/em\u003e and other albums.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBlue Note signed Smith as a solo act, producing soul jazz classics \u003cem\u003eThink!\u003c\/em\u003e (1968), \u003cem\u003eTurning Point\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eMove Your Hand\u003c\/em\u003e (1970), \u003cem\u003eDrives\u003c\/em\u003e (1970), and \u003cem\u003eLive at Club Mozambique\u003c\/em\u003e (released later). He left Blue Note in 1971, recording for Creed Taylor's Kudu\/CTI label and Sonny Lester's Groove Merchant\/LRC labels throughout the 1970s. During this period, he began wearing turbans as symbols of universal spirituality and adopted the \"Dr.\" moniker. He launched his own label Pilgrimage Inc. in 2012 and returned to Blue Note in 2015, releasing \u003cem\u003eEvolution\u003c\/em\u003e (2016, featuring Robert Glasper and Joe Lovano) and \u003cem\u003eAll in My Mind\u003c\/em\u003e (2018, recorded live at Jazz Standard for his 75th birthday). He was named NEA Jazz Master in 2017. His music has been sampled by A Tribe Called Quest, Notorious B.I.G., and others. He has performed with Grover Washington Jr., Ron Carter, Dizzy Gillespie, Santana, Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, and Etta James. Smith died on 28 September 2021 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, aged 79.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"lonnie-smith-afro-desia-2024-mr-bongo-groove-merchant-reissue-lp-gatefold","title":"Lonnie Smith - Afro-Desia (2024 Mr Bongo Groove Merchant Reissue LP Gatefold)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLonnie Smith - \u003cem\u003eAfro-Desia\u003c\/em\u003e | Vinyl LP - 2024 Mr Bongo Gatefold Reissue (MRBLP297)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLonnie Smith's 1975 Hammond B3 jazz-funk landmark\u003c\/strong\u003e for Groove Merchant, produced by label owner Sonny Lester, with an uncredited George Benson on guitar, Joe Lovano on saxophone and Ron Carter on bass\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFive tracks\u003c\/strong\u003e ranging from the 15-minute free-wheeling \"Spirits Free\" to the Latin-inflected \"Straight to the Point,\" covering Smith's full range from cosmic organ exploration to locked-in soul-jazz groove\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eAmong the earliest recordings of Joe Lovano\u003c\/strong\u003e, who went on to become one of the most important tenor saxophonists of the following four decades\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eGatefold reissue\u003c\/strong\u003e pressed at Optimal Media GmbH; the second release in Mr Bongo's Groove Merchant catalogue series\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLonnie Smith had been a central figure in soul-jazz and hard bop since the late 1960s, recording for Blue Note alongside Lee Morgan, George Benson and others, and building a reputation as one of the most inventive Hammond B3 players in jazz. By 1975, recording for Sonny Lester's Groove Merchant label, he assembled a lineup of Ron Carter on bass, Ben Riley on drums, a young Joe Lovano on tenor and soprano saxophone, and a mysterious guitarist who does not appear on the sleeve under his own name. \"Compliments of a Friend\" is widely understood to be George Benson, who had worked closely with Smith in the 1960s and could not be credited for contractual reasons. His guitar is present on the title track, \"Favors\" and \"The Awakening.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe five tracks span the full range of Smith's idiom. \"Afrodesia\" opens the record with a nine-minute piece that moves from electric funk to open improvisation, Hopkins and Lovano trading on trumpet and saxophone over Armstrong's bass and a layered rhythm section. \"Spirits Free\" runs to fifteen minutes, rising and falling across free sections, spacey organ passages and funky grooves. Side B brings a sharper, more direct feel: \"Straight to the Point\" kicks off with a carnival pulse, and \"Favors\" — a reworking of Coltrane's \"Impressions,\" though uncredited on the original sleeve — extends into a ten-minute trio improvisation with Benson and Lovano. \"The Awakening\" closes the record in the same territory. Smith had not yet adopted the \"Dr.\" prefix in 1975; that came later in his career. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mr Bongo","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43264173408315,"sku":null,"price":60.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0630\/3203\/3339\/files\/a0099247125_10.jpg?v=1772928691"}],"url":"https:\/\/lushliferecords.com.au\/collections\/dr-lonnie-smith.oembed","provider":"Lush Life Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}