Great work from Lonnie Smith – one of the few Hammond heroes from the past who's continued to give us fresh-sounding music over the years! Lonnie's been reinvigorated after returning to Blue Note – and this tight little set follows all the growth he's experienced at the label – organ lines that soar nicely, with a complexity that Smith never had in his early years – given strong rhythmic support from Johnathan Blake on drums and Jonathan Kreisberg on guitar! The middle core of the album is live – recorded at the Jazz Standard – and features work from John Ellis on trumpet, Jason Marshall on baritone, Robin Eubanks on trombone, and Sean Jones on trumpet – on titles that include "Bright Eyes", "Pilgrimage", "Two Damn Hot", "Track 9", and "World Weeps". The set also features two covers – both with surprising vocals from Iggy Pop – a nice take on the Timmy Thomas tune "Why Can't We Live Together", and a version of "Sunshine Superman". ~ Dusty Groove
A new and amazing chapter in the always-evolving sound of this wonderful funk ensemble – a set that holds onto all the unusual elements of previous records, but also brings in some beautiful vocals from singer Piya Malik on a number of tracks! Malik really fleshes out the sound on the numbers she handles – and the overall style is very hard to pin down – a globe's worth of influences, as El Michels blend together post-Wu Tang, post-Ethiopiques, post-Arabesk modes – yet all infused with a classic sense of funk that's not only very faithful to the 70s, but also has a cinematic sense of majesty! The blend is great – and Piya really helps open up the sound on the album's vocal tracks – served up in a mix of titles that include "Dhuaan", "Lesson Learned", "Murkit Gem", "Fazed Out", "Ala Vida", "Unathi", "Last Blast", "Zaharila", and "Silver Lining". ~ Dusty Groove
Jon Batiste is looking mighty righteous on the cover, and he's sounding mighty righteous within – imbued with a new spirit of consciousness from the events of 2020, which brings a whole new sort of focus to his music – and makes for an album that's every bit a soul set as it is a jazz record! Jon sings on every track, with this raspy power that pushes the rest of the music forward very strongly – igniting the proceedings with the kind of fire you'd hope for, given the album's dedication to "the dreamers, seers, griots, and truth tellers who refuse to let us fully descend into madness". Batiste can definitely add himself to that list – as can guests who include Zadie Smith, Hot 8 Brass Band, PJ Morton, and Trombone Shorty – on titles that include "Cry", "Boy Hood", "Movement 11", "Show Me The Way", "We Are", "Tell The Truth", "Sing", "Until", "Mavis", and "Whatchutalkinbout". ~ Dusty Groove
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