Lonnie Liston Smith, Jr. (born December 28, 1940) is an American jazz, soul, and funk musician who played with such notable jazz artists as Pharoah Sanders and Miles Davis before forming Lonnie Liston Smith and the Cosmic Echoes, recording a number of albums widely regarded as classics in the fusion, quiet storm, smooth jazz and acid jazz genres. The Cosmic Echoes (1973–85) While passing through Miles Davis' ever-changing line-up, Smith had finally formed his own group, 'Lonnie Liston Smith and the Cosmic Echoes' in 1973, together with his partner in Pharoah Sanders group, Cecil McBee, on bass, George Barron (soprano and tenor sax), Joe Beck (guitar), David Lee, Jr. (drums), James Mtume (percussion), Sonny Morgan (percussion), Badal Roy (tabla drums), and Geeta Vashi (tamboura). Blending atmospheric fusion, soul and funk, Smith was encouraged by Bob Thiele, the owner of Flying Dutchman Records, who had produced both Pharoah Sanders' and Gato Barbieri's output while Smith had been in their bands, the latter for Thiele's newly formed label. For his debut album, Astral Traveling (Flying Dutchman, 1973), Smith re-recorded the title song he had composed and played on with the Pharoah Sanders band two years previous. An instrumental album, Astral Travelling also contained a re-arrangement of the gospel standard "Let Us Go Into the House of the Lord", which Smith had also previously arranged for Sanders. The following year Smith's brother Donald joined the Cosmic Echoes as vocalist for Cosmic Funk (Flying Dutchman, 1974). Although he remained close to his earlier roots with featured versions of Wayne Shorter's "Footprints" and John Coltrane's "Naima" on this album, by now Smith was heading into the smooth jazz funk/fusion style that would dominate his output from here on, with dreamy vocals and long, spacy instrumental passages underlaid by strong funky bass-lines and a distinctive use of light percussion, with a message of peace and tranquillity in both the lyrics and song titles. "I was trying to expand the consciousness of humanity" explained Smith in an interview in 2009.[5] This attitude may not have endeared Smith to the hardcore free jazz fans who had appreciated his earlier work, but this new relaxed fusion style proved popular with a cross-over audience not normally associated with jazz, and the following albums, Expansions (Flying Dutchman, 1974), Visions of a New World (Flying Dutchman, 1975) and Reflections of a Golden Dream (RCA, 1976) have since become mainstays of the jazz-funk and chill jazz genres with DJs and audiences worldwide, especially in Europe and Japan. Renaissance (RCA, 1977) continued this crossover fame, and the following year Smith expanded upon his success with a new contract with Columbia Records and two further crossover albums in Loveland (Columbia, 1978) and Exotic Mysteries (Columbia, 1978), the latter containing the single "Space Princess" which became a disco/R&B hit popular in clubs today in both 7" and remixed 12" versions. "Space Princess" was written by, and featured the bass lines of 16-year-old Marcus Miller, who was discovered by Smith and also wrote the track "Night Flower" on Exotic Mysteries. A further track from the same album, "Quiet Moments", was to become a mainstay of the smooth jazz genre over the next decade.
Lonnie Liston Smith, Jr. (born December 28, 1940) is an American jazz, soul, and funk musician who played with such notable jazz artists as Pharoah Sanders and Miles Davis before forming Lonnie Liston Smith and the Cosmic Echoes, recording a number of albums widely regarded as classics in the fusion, quiet storm, smooth jazz and acid jazz genres.
ResponderEliminarThe Cosmic Echoes (1973–85)
While passing through Miles Davis' ever-changing line-up, Smith had finally formed his own group, 'Lonnie Liston Smith and the Cosmic Echoes' in 1973, together with his partner in Pharoah Sanders group, Cecil McBee, on bass, George Barron (soprano and tenor sax), Joe Beck (guitar), David Lee, Jr. (drums), James Mtume (percussion), Sonny Morgan (percussion), Badal Roy (tabla drums), and Geeta Vashi (tamboura). Blending atmospheric fusion, soul and funk, Smith was encouraged by Bob Thiele, the owner of Flying Dutchman Records, who had produced both Pharoah Sanders' and Gato Barbieri's output while Smith had been in their bands, the latter for Thiele's newly formed label. For his debut album, Astral Traveling (Flying Dutchman, 1973), Smith re-recorded the title song he had composed and played on with the Pharoah Sanders band two years previous. An instrumental album, Astral Travelling also contained a re-arrangement of the gospel standard "Let Us Go Into the House of the Lord", which Smith had also previously arranged for Sanders.
The following year Smith's brother Donald joined the Cosmic Echoes as vocalist for Cosmic Funk (Flying Dutchman, 1974). Although he remained close to his earlier roots with featured versions of Wayne Shorter's "Footprints" and John Coltrane's "Naima" on this album, by now Smith was heading into the smooth jazz funk/fusion style that would dominate his output from here on, with dreamy vocals and long, spacy instrumental passages underlaid by strong funky bass-lines and a distinctive use of light percussion, with a message of peace and tranquillity in both the lyrics and song titles. "I was trying to expand the consciousness of humanity" explained Smith in an interview in 2009.[5] This attitude may not have endeared Smith to the hardcore free jazz fans who had appreciated his earlier work, but this new relaxed fusion style proved popular with a cross-over audience not normally associated with jazz, and the following albums, Expansions (Flying Dutchman, 1974), Visions of a New World (Flying Dutchman, 1975) and Reflections of a Golden Dream (RCA, 1976) have since become mainstays of the jazz-funk and chill jazz genres with DJs and audiences worldwide, especially in Europe and Japan. Renaissance (RCA, 1977) continued this crossover fame, and the following year Smith expanded upon his success with a new contract with Columbia Records and two further crossover albums in Loveland (Columbia, 1978) and Exotic Mysteries (Columbia, 1978), the latter containing the single "Space Princess" which became a disco/R&B hit popular in clubs today in both 7" and remixed 12" versions. "Space Princess" was written by, and featured the bass lines of 16-year-old Marcus Miller, who was discovered by Smith and also wrote the track "Night Flower" on Exotic Mysteries. A further track from the same album, "Quiet Moments", was to become a mainstay of the smooth jazz genre over the next decade.