Lonnie Liston Smith & The Cosmic Echoes "Renaissance" (1977)

Lonnie Liston Smith started out playing straight-ahead acoustic jazz before becoming better known for embracing fusion, crossover, soul and funk with his 1970's band the Cosmic Echoes.

Smith was born in Richmond, Virginia, but it was in New York that Smith started getting a lot of work as a jazz pianist in the 1960's.

Greatly influenced by McCoy Tyner but quite distinctive himself, Smith played acoustic piano as a sideman for Pharoah Sanders, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Betty Carter and Gato Barbieri but turned to fusion when Miles Davis hired him as an electric keyboardist in the early 1970's.
By 1973, Smith was ready to lead a band of his own into his greatest success in the 70's, which included David Hubbard, Cecil Mcbee, Lawrence Killian, Art Gore, and the unforgettable one two combination of his brother, vocalist extraordinaire Donald Smith, The Cosmic Echoes. Donald's vocal talents have not received the accolades he deserved, check Donald Smith out on Lonnie Liston Smith's album "Renaissance", the cut is "Starlight and You", when you hear this cut you'll see what I mean, this man's voice is so very erotic, and sensuous with deep spiritual intonations, you just got to give feel it.
The improviser made his recording debut as a leader with 1973's 'Astral Traveling' and continued to fare well in the fusion / crossover appeal with such offerings as 1974's 'Cosmic Funk' and 1975's 'Expansions'.
The atmospheric fusion, crossover, soul and funk that Smith played on his Cosmic Echoes dates of the 1970's had a very spiritual feeling.
If anyone bridged the gap between John Coltrane and Earth, Wind & Fire, it was Smith.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Lonnie
• Liston
• Smith
• The
• Cosmic
• Echoes
• Renaissance
• Jazz
• Funk

[Streamline09]

Great music and the vocals and lyrics are sublime. Thanks.

[neofunkyman1]

that bassline gets me everytime

[jarbon5]

Love the smoothness of this music:)