Dr. Lonnie Smith - Rise Up!
Artist.....: Dr. Lonnie Smith
Title......: Rise Up!
Label......: Palmetto Records
Store Date.: Feb-17-2009
Genre......: Jazz
Encoder....: Lame 3.97 / -V2 --vbr-new
Size.......: 81,4 MB
Track Listing:
01 - A Matterapat 06:47
02 - Come Together 05:07
03 - Pilgrimage 06:49
04 - Daper Dan 07:22
05 - And The World Weeps 07:40
06 - People Make The World Go Round 10:43
07 - Tyrone 06:15
08 - Sweet Dreams 06:47
09 - Voodoo Doll 04:43
─────
62:13 min
Release Notes:
http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=7824708
Who says you have to slow down as you get older? The honorable B-3
master, Dr. Lonnie Smith, has been on a renaissance tear since the
beginning of the 21st century. Rise Up! is the fifth new recording
since 2000, and there have been a number of reissues of his older
work to boot. Given that some artists issue a record a year, this
may not seem like such a terrific feat -- but appearances are
deceiving. Smith recorded only 13 albums between 1966 and 1996, so
five in nine years is actually prolific. It's not only the
quantity, however, it's the consistency of the quality of the
records Smith has been releasing that is outstanding, and Rise Up!
is no exception.
Ever since 2000's Turbanator and 2003's Boogaloo to Beck: A
Tribute, Smith has packed his records with covers and originals
that accent the "soul" in the deep, wide tradition of soul-jazz.
Sure, he's funky, he's got chops, grooves, and tricks, and he's
surrounded himself with compelling musicians from Jimmy Ponder to
David "Fathead" Newman to great effect. Since 2003 he's been
working with guitarist and producer Matt Balitsaris and the
results have been, and remain, electrifying. This set, with
guitarist Peter Bernstein, saxophonist Donald Harrison, and
drummer Herlin Riley -- with extra help on a couple of cuts from
Balitsaris and percussionist James Shipp -- is one of his most
realized, funky, and resonant dates yet. The set jumps off with
Smith's original "Matterapat,"showcasing the smoking Latin
percussion of Shipp and taut, off-kilter breaks from Riley, the
front line is all knotty soul and blues. The theme is greasy and
in the pocket; Harrison's solo moves effortlessly from post-bop to
soul. The cover of the Beatles' "Come Together" that follows is
even nastier, with Smith's below-the-basement vocal growl on the
first verse all but indecipherable except as a snarling rap. It's
another instrument in this band's arsenal. This is a slow bump and
funky grind with a big payoff. "Pilgrimage" begins as a ballad but
quickly asserts itself as a cooker thanks to Riley playing
counterpoint breaks to Smith's B-3. Other covers that appear --
and are reinvented in Smith's musical vocabulary -- are the
Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams," which commences, seemingly, as an
astral afterthought but finds a deep percussive bottom end and a
spooky articulation of the melody that is all rhythm based. One
can guarantee that the version of "People Make the World Go
'Round" found here is unlike any other that exists. It's the
longest cut on the set and builds itself right from a lithe,
breezy funk groove with a poppin' set of rimshot breakbeats from
Riley. Harrison is the perfect foil for Smith because of his lyric
sensibility; it is the perfect counter to the percussive groove
quotient of Smith. The solos here are wonderfully complex and
sophisticated and the use of harmonic extension in the ensemble's
reading is pure magic. The set ends on an atmospheric blues tip
with Smith's "Voodoo Doll," where Harrison's alto plays it
straight out of the noir-ish dark and into the shadows where
traces of light emerge. Smith's comping and eventually structural
form for the tune transforms it into a swirling, shimmering heat
with Bernstein's guitar erecting a pulsing bridge for Riley. It's
a killer way to end a record. For B-3 fans, Rise Up! is nothing
but solid in terms of tunes, arrangements, and heat.
Enjoy..