Mixing
Lonnie Smith (jazz musician)
Lonnie Smith | |
|---|---|
 Smith in New York City, December 24, 2007 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1942-07-03) July 3, 1942 Buffalo, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz, soul jazz, funk |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Organ |
| Years active | 1960–present |
| Labels | Columbia, Blue Note, Kudu, Groove Merchant, T.K., Criss Cross, Palmetto, Pilgrimage |
| Associated acts | George Benson |
| Website | drlonniesmith.com |
Lonnie Smith (born July 3, 1942), styled Dr. Lonnie Smith, is an American jazz Hammond B3 organist who was a member of the George Benson quartet in the 1960s. He recorded albums with saxophonist Lou Donaldson for Blue Note before being signed as a solo act. He owns the label Pilgrimage.
Contents
1 Early life
1.1 George Benson Quartet
1.2 Solo career; Finger Lickin' Good
1.3 Blue Note Records
2 1970s Tours and Performances
3 Performances
4 Awards and honors
5 Personal life
6 Discography
6.1 As leader
6.2 As sideman
7 References
8 External links
Early life
He was born in Lackawanna, New York,[1] into a family with a vocal group and radio program. Smith says that his mother was a major influence on him musically, as she introduced him to gospel, classical, and jazz music. He was part of several vocal ensembles in the 1950s, including the Teen Kings which included Grover Washington Jr., on sax and his brother Daryl on drums.[2] Art Kubera, the owner of a local music store, gave Smith his first organ, a Hammond B3.[3]
George Benson Quartet
Smith's affinity for R&B melded with his own personal style as he became active in the local music scene. He moved to New York City, where he met George Benson, the guitarist for Jack McDuff's band. Benson and Smith connected on a personal level, and the two formed the George Benson Quartet, featuring Lonnie Smith, in 1966.
Solo career; Finger Lickin' Good
After two albums under Benson's leadership, It's Uptown and Cookbook, Smith recorded his first solo album (Finger Lickin' Good Soul Organ) in 1967, with George Benson and Melvin Sparks on guitar, Ronnie Cuber on baritone sax, and Marion Booker on drums. This combination remained stable for the next five years.
After recording several albums with Benson, Smith became a solo recording artist and has since recorded over 30 albums under his own name. Numerous prominent jazz artists have joined Smith on his albums and in his live performances, including Lee Morgan, David "Fathead" Newman, King Curtis, Terry Bradds, Blue Mitchell, Joey DeFrancesco and Joe Lovano.[3]
Blue Note Records
In 1967, Smith met Lou Donaldson, who put him in contact with Blue Note Records. Donaldson asked the quartet to record an album for Blue Note, Alligator Bogaloo. Blue Note signed Smith for the next four albums, all in the soul jazz style, including Think! (with Lee Morgan, David Newman, Melvin Sparks and Marion Booker) and Turning Point (with Lee Morgan, Bennie Maupin, Melvin Sparks and Idris Muhammad).
Smith's next album Move Your Hand was recorded at the Club Harlem in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in August 1969. The album's reception allowed his reputation to grow beyond the Northeast. He recorded another studio album, Drives, and another live album (unreleased at the time), Live at Club Mozambique (recorded in Detroit on May 21, 1970), before leaving Blue Note.
Dr. Smith became a part of the Blue Note family once again in March 2015. He released his first Blue Note album in 45 years titled Evolution which was released January 29, 2016 featuring special guests: Robert Glasper and Joe Lovano. His second Blue Note album All in My Mind was recorded live at "The Jazz Standard" in NYC (celebrating his 75th birthday with his longtime musical associates: guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg and drummer Johnathan Blake), and released January 12, 2018.
1970s Tours and Performances
Smith toured the northeastern United States heavily during the 1970s. He concentrated largely on smaller neighborhood venues during this period. His sidemen included Donald Hahn on trumpet, Ronnie Cuber, Dave Hubbard, Bill Easley and George Adams on saxes, George Benson, Perry Hughes, Marc Silver, Billy Rogers, and Larry McGee on guitars, and Joe Dukes, Sylvester Goshay, Phillip Terrell, Marion Booker, Jimmy Lovelace, Charles Crosby, Art Gore, Norman Connors and Bobby Durham on drums.
Performances
Smith has performed at several prominent jazz festivals with artists including Grover Washington Jr., Ron Carter, Dizzy Gillespie, Lou Donaldson, Ron Holloway, and Santana. He has also played with musicians outside of jazz, such as Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, Etta James, and Esther Phillips.[4]
Awards and honors
- Organ Keyboardist of the Year, Jazz Journalist Association, 2003–2005, 2008–2011, 2013, 2014[1]
NEA Jazz Master, 2017
Personal life
Referred to as "Dr." by fellow musicians because he likes to "doctor" up the tunes with his unique improvisational stylings.
Discography
As leader
Finger Lickin' Good Soul Organ (Columbia, 1967)
Think! (Blue Note, 1969)
Turning Point (Blue Note, 1969)
Move Your Hand (Blue Note, 1970)
Drives (Blue Note, 1970)
Mama Wailer (Kudu, 1971)
Afro–desia (Groove Merchant, 1975)
Keep on Lovin' (Groove Merchant, 1976)
Funk Reaction (Lester Radio Corporation, 1977)
Gotcha (Lester Radio Corporation, 1978)
Lonnie Smith (America, 1979)
When the Night Is Right! (Chiaroscuro, 1980)
Lenox and Seventh (Black & Blue, 1985) - with Alvin Queen
Afro Blue (MusicMasters, 1993)
Foxy Lady: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix) (MusicMasters, 1994)
Purple Haze: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix (MusicMasters, 1995)
Live at Club Mozambique (Blue Note, 1995)
The Turbanator (32 Jazz, 2000) - with Jimmy Ponder
Boogaloo to Beck: A Tribute (Scufflin', 2003)
Too Damn Hot! (Palmetto, 2004)
Jungle Soul (Palmetto, 2006)
Rise Up! (Palmetto, 2008)
The Art of Organizing (Criss Cross, 2009)
Spiral (Palmetto, 2010)
The Healer (Pilgrimage, 2012)
In the Beginning (Pilgrimage, 2013) - 2CD
Evolution (Blue Note, 2016)
All in My Mind (Blue Note, 2018)[5]
As sideman
With Eric Allison
Mean Streets Beat (Contemporary, 1996)
After Hours (Contemporary, 1997)
With George Benson
It's Uptown (Columbia, 1966)
The George Benson Cookbook (Columbia, 1967)
With Bobby Broom
Modern Man (Delmark, 2001)
With Karl Denson's Tiny Universe
The Bridge (Relaxed, 2002)
With Lou Donaldson
Alligator Bogaloo (Blue Note, 1967)
Mr. Shing-A-Ling (Blue Note, 1967)
Midnight Creeper (Blue Note, 1968)
Everything I Play Is Funky (Blue Note, 1970)
Play the Right Thing (Milestone, 1990)
Caracas (Milestone, 1993)
Sentimental Journey (Columbia, 1995)
Relaxing at Sea: Live on the QE2 (Chiaroscuro, 1999)
With Richie Hart
Remembering Wes (Compose, 1989)[6]
Greasy Street (Zoho, 2005)[7]
With Red Holloway
Red Soul (Prestige, 1966)
Coast to Coast (Milestone, 2003)
With Javon Jackson
A Look Within (Blue Note, 1996)
Easy Does It (Palmetto, 2002)
Have You Heard (Palmetto, 2004)
Now (Palmetto, 2006)
With Rodney Jones
Soul Manifesto (Blue Note, 2001)
With Jimmy McGriff
State of the Art (Milestone, 1985)
McGriff's House Party (Milestone, 1999)
With Jimmy Ponder
So Many Stars (Milestone, 1985)
Come On Down (Muse, 1991)
To Reach a Dream (Muse, 1991)
With Akira Tana
Secret Agent Men (Sons of Sound, 1992)
With Chester 'CT' Thompson
Mixology (Doodlin', 2012)
References
^ ab Gilbreath, Mikayla (2008-01-07). "Dr. Lonnie Smith: Organ Guru". All About Jazz. Retrieved 2008-01-21..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ Bennett, Bill (January/February 2005) "Dr Lonnie Smith - The Doctor Is In". JazzTimes.
^ ab Feather, Leonard; Gitler, Ira (2007). The biographical encyclopedia of jazz. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-532000-8.
^ "Lonnie Smith". Indie Jazz. Radical Moodswinger Music. 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-21.
^ "Dr. Lonnie Smith | Album Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
^ "Remembering Wes". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
^ "Greasy Street". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
External links
- Official website
Dr. Lonnie Smith interview – 2008 on YouTube
- Lonnie Smith Illustrated Discography
Dr. Lonnie Smith Interview NAMM Oral History Library (2012)
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