The Pace Report: Echos of a Cosmic Renaissance" The Lonnie Liston Smith Interview

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• published: 11 Feb 2012
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During the late 1960's Jazz music was undergoing a major metamorphosis. Miles Davis was musically in transition and went from the traditional acoustic quartet to a more funky electronic sound. Out went the stand-up bass and came the electronic bass. Out with the standard piano and came the Fender Rhodes. Many musicians in what would be hailed as Fusion jazz phase, took rock, soul, and other free form elements and centered it with an electronic base. Musicians like Joe Zawinul, Chick Corea, Les McCann, Herbie Hancock, and Stevie Wonder used the Fender Rhodes as not a replacement to the standard piano, but as a means to create and experimental sound to evolve with the new music that took the world by storm. Pianist and keyboardist Lonnie Liston Smith is a pioneer in the fusion jazz/funk whelm, in that he came out of the gospel and mainstream jazz tradition and created his own flair of music that many musicians from Guru to Jamiroquai to Masters at Work have emulated in soul, hip-hop, and Latin music. Lonnie's group "The Cosmic Echoes" music is still being sampled by hip-hop and R & B artists as well still played in dance clubs all over the world. Lonnie Liston Smith, Jr. was born on December 28, 1940 in Richmond, Virginia. Music was always part of Lonnie's life. His father, Lonnie Liston Smith, was one of the founding members of The Harmonizing Four, which were one of many pioneering gospel groups during the 1930's to 1950's. As a child he was exposed to many of the gospel music greats like The Soul Stirrers featuring vocalist Sam Cooke and The Swan Silvertones. Lonnie's father bought a piano and taught anyone who wanted to learn. He was bitten by the music bug at an early age and by the time he graduated from high school, Lonnie had become an accomplished pianist as well as trumpet and tuba player. Upon graduating from Morgan State University in the early 1960's he moved to New York City where he eventually graduated from school of jazz. Playing and backing the likes of Art Blakey, Roland Kirk, Pharaoh Sanders, Gato Barbieri, Betty Carter, Max Roach, Abbey Lincoln, and Miles Davis. It was during the early 1970's that Lonnie was introduced to the Fender Rhodes electric piano. While recording saxophonist Pharaoh Sander's "Thembi" recording on Impulse Records, that he played the instrument for the first time. In fact, he wrote "Astral Traveling" in the first 10 minutes that he first tinkered with the Rhodes. Sanders loved the song and recorded it that afternoon. It was also during his recording with Pharaoh that he became friends with legendary record producer Bob Thiele, founder of Flying Dutchman Records. Thiele, whose legendary work includes producing the late Buddy Holly and all of John Coltrane's sessions while at Impulse Records, extended the offer for Lonnie to record his first record. In 1973 Lonnie formed The Cosmic Echoes and would record music and a sound that was different during the 1970's. His first band consisted of bassist Cecil McBee, percussionist James Mtume, guitarist Joe Beck, saxophonist George Barron, and drummer David Lee, Jr. Lonnie's debut recording "Astral Traveling" came out to rave reviews. This was also the same time that Lonnie was touring with trumpeter Miles Davis who had just recorded and released "On The Corner" and "Big Fun." For almost 14 years The Cosmic Echos recorded fourteen records which included "Expansions," "Cosmic Funk," and "Loveland." During the mid-1980's into the mid-1990's Lonnie recorded many trio jazz recordings as well as paired up with the late rapper Guru for his landmark Jazzmatazz recording. Over the years Lonnie's music has been sampled and rediscovered by a new legion of R & B and Hip-Hop artists. Some of them include: Young Jeezy, O.C., Jay-Z, Digable Planets, Mary J. Blige, and Nikki Jean. Today Lonnie is still on the road as part of the "Soulful Nights of Keys" tour featuring Mark Adams and the legendary Brian Jackson. Also, he's in the studio recording new music. For more information on Lonnie's upcoming club dates please visit him on the web at lonnielistonsmith.net.