Hammond B-3 organ legend Dr. Lonnie Smith has announced a
January 12 release for All in My Mind, a spirited live trio album that the NEA
Jazz Master recorded during his 75th birthday celebration at the Jazz Standard
in New York City this past summer. The album is the follow-up to his acclaimed
2016 release Evolution, which marked Smith’s return to Blue Note Records where
he first made a name for himself with a run of classic soul jazz albums between
1968-70. Hear the new track “Up Jumped Spring” on the playlist Dr. Lonnie
Smith: The Finest which features Smith’s greatest Blue Note tracks as a leader
and sideman, and can be streamed on Apple Music or Spotify. Smith will return
to the Jazz Standard to celebrate the album's release from January 11-14.
At 75 years old Smith still reigns as a master of innovation
and experimentation. He may have been away from Blue Note for 46 years, but he
perfectly fits in with the current mission of label president Don Was to
present the future movements of jazz as well as honoring those who forged the
tradition. “Dr. Lonnie Smith returns to the Blue Note label with an album that
reveals the enduring appeal of organ soul,” raved The Wall Street Journal in a
2016 review of Evolution, adding that the album “showcases a variety of
organ-soul stylings [and] demonstrates the versatility and currency of the
style.”
A connoisseur of groove and a consummate showman, Smith
wanted to record All in My Mind in a live setting because, as he says, “It’s so
hard to capture what I’m feeling at the moment in the studio. Hearing me live
is catching me playing in the moment. It’s a good vibe. It’s a loving
situation.”
“My group is a brotherhood, a dedicated family,” Smith says
of his trio with guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg and drummer Johnathan Blake.
“They are the heartbeat of the music. They know what I’m trying to do, and they
enhance what I play. I play in the moment all the time, and they adjust and are
there for me.”
All in My Mind opens with a powerful rendering of Wayne
Shorter’s “JuJu” from the saxophonist’s 1965 Blue Note album of the same name.
Smith also takes Paul Simon’s hit “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” for a 10-minute
joyride with drummer Joe Dyson taking a turn behind the kit, and reworks his
own vintage composition “All in My Mind” which features the amazing vocal range
and spirit of Alicia Olatuja.
Smith reflects, “You play life, you tell your story. I know
who I am, and that means so much.” As for his return to Blue Note, he singles
out Don Was who produced Evolution and All in My Mind. “I’ve worked with
producers who don’t understand the musicians they’re working with. But Don
wants me to be myself, he understands and respects creativity. It’s a reminder
of the old days when Frank Wolff used to be the same.”
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