Lonnie Liston Smith's Cosmic Funk and Quiet Storm

Underrated Lonnie Liston Smith

One of the more underrated artists of the 1970's was jazz funk artist Lonnie Liston Smith.

 Smith was a fine jazz pianist who got his start playing straight ahead jazz with the likes of Roland Kirk, Betty Carter, and Pharoah Sanders.

Lonnie also contributed to a couple of Miles Davis albums, Big Fun and On the Corner before he went out on his own.

By this time the landscape had changed, and if you wanted to make any money you had to adapt. Popular sounds like soul, R&B, and funk permeated top 40 radio. So to be heard on a large level, you better fuse these element into your jazz.

Lonnie not only did that, he came up with his own brand of laid back funk jazz, that was bent toward the quiet storm genre. This came to a head on the Columbia label.

I could certainly see Venus Flytrap spinning these Lonnie Liston Smith tunes on his late night radio show on WKRP in Cincinnati. Most of the 70's albums fused a solid jazz foundation. "This foundation for Lonnie would later become decidedly funk"- That jazz element is always there, Smith also fuses world music and various drums and keyboards.

On his album "Renaissance" he chooses to lay down these colorful pallets, a landscape of cosmic sounds using synthesizers and his brother Donald's flute.

Lonnie will then play the acoustic piano over the groove, and it works perfectly, the piano cuts right through the wash of colors and it stands out like a lighthouse beacon on a foggy evening, that is something Lonnie does a lot that really stands out to me.

Lonnie's first album Astral Traveling is probably the most straight ahead modern jazz album he ever did, each album after adds a little more commercialism, but even his most commercial Columbia albums never completely go over the cliff into disco drivel.

A few times the wheels may be hanging over that cliff, but these Columbia albums are the forgotten ones as far as Smith goes. Those Columbia albums fit very comfortably into the quiet storm genre.

Lonnie's 70's albums are perfect to listen to consecutively, as they seem to form a concept of sorts, they never seem to veer off too much.

You're going to get some laid back smooth grooves, and a few upbeat heavy on the drums cookers, a few island groove type numbers and some above average singing by Lonnie's flute playing brother Donald.

The vocal numbers that usually appear 2 or 3 per platter are your typical laid back soul, with female backing vocals over the exotic colorful groove pallet I mentioned earlier.

If you like quiet storm or jazz funk and don't mind a few R&B ringers, you'll have a nice relationship with Mr. Smith. I know I return to his music quite often just to chill. Below "Enchantress" is a perfect example of what I consider quiet storm to be.

Lonnie's music draws you in and over time shows its rewards. Years later I have grown to like this music more and more as a meditation feel good music, with enough challenging jazz styles thrown in to keep a staunch modern jazz fan interested.

These jazz funk albums have become very popular to modern contemporary artists, who seemingly find an endless supply of beats to lift from dusty vinyl copies for their hip hop and DJ activities.

 I bet you could get every vinyl copy in Lonnie's discography for under $150 if you shopped around a bit.

(Photo my own)

Attention: Bob James' 1970's CTI Fusion Albums Officially Do Not Stink

On the contrary, not only do Bob James' 70's Fusion albums not stink, they are actually some of the best arranged jazz funk you will ever hear.

These albums are not at all lite jazz, or gasp, smooth jazz. These albums are well produced yes, but have plenty of improvisatory heat, and plenty of challenging arrangements.

I must say right away, I never fell victim to the I hate Bob James Fan club. Sure, some of his later albums are smooth to the point that very little fire is left in the music. But these CTI albums I am talking about, numbered 1 through 3 are masterpieces of bass grooving, tightly arranged jazz funk.

 Lots of fantastic 70's detective thriller music styles thrown in for good measure. I try not to get caught up in the genre box, I don't care if this music isn't classic jazz. It's just plain old good music to my ears.

It also doesn't hurt when Grover Washington Jr's tenor Sax permeates these albums as well.

Bob James One:

The first volume, One from 1974, features 2 of the best Bob James tracks, "Nautilus" and "Valley of the Shadows". The former being covered by so many hip-hop artists it's incredible.

"Nautilus" has been sampled by artists like Run DMC on "Beats to the Rhyme", and by "A Tribe Called Quest" on "Clap Your Hands". At least  20 more sampled versions are available. The track "Valley of the Shadows" is a track that should be sampled, just love the build up of tension and then the release on that one.

Bob also had a charting pop hit with the track "Feel Like Making Love".

If Bob James was no good, why would so many people sample the music?

The main detractors of the music, are the same narrow minded jazz elitists who can't seem to remove this and other fusion music from the jazz box.

 I have never understood the reason why those critics can't just despise the music without making sure everyone knows it ain't jazz.

OK, we get it guys. I don't care that it's not jazz, just like I never cared that Miles Davis' electric period wasn't jazz proper either.

 Seems like a lot of wasted energy worrying about what genre something is, just call it fusion if you need a label. The listener can decide on their own what genres are being fused
together.

Bob James Two:

1975's Two is another fine fusion album to follow up One. Two features another widely sampled track "Take me to the Mardi Gras", a track sampled by the Beastie Boys on their album Licensed to Ill, and by LL Cool J on his album Radio.

The funny thing is, "Mardi Gras" is probably my least favorite track on the album. The second track is a really nice r&b vocal track by Patti Austin, honestly this track is pretty darned good for the genre.

"The Golden Apple" and "Farandole" are the ringers here for me, I like the 70's detective thriller music style.

Both tracks have that Lalo Schifrin soundtrack music vibe. Bass funk grooves, electric piano noodling, and heavy brass punctuation in the back drop. Some tasty guitar from Eric Gale as well throughout the track as well.

Then at the 4 minute mark of "Farandole", Hubert Laws chimes in with a nice flute solo melody that almost takes you to the land of milk and honey, only to have the street wise vibe return you to the concrete jungle sound, with that funked out brass heavy sound.

Bob James Three:

I think over the past 20 years, Three has become my favorite Bob James albums. Even though the first 2 would be a very close second, I feel like Three is the pinnacle of the style being searched for on the previous 2 albums.

Some of the numbers here reach out and grab me. "One Mint Julip" West Chester Lady", and "Storm King".  "One Mint Julip, a cover of a 1952 r&b classic written by Rudy Toombs, is a funky big band work out, with many ups and downs.

I never get bored listening to these albums, the melodies and catchy instrumental hooks keep you interested. If you don't like the Fender Rhodes piano or funky bouncin' bass, you won't find much to savor on these albums.

In the end the music does sound dated a bit, it's firmly etched in the decade of the 1970's.  I do not have an issue with that at all, that adds to the charm of the music in my mind.

You can can get all 3 of Bob James' First CTI albums at very reasonable prices on vinyl, and you can can get them on CD or Download of course.

The double disc Restoration: The Best of Bob James is a great way to acquire the most important stuff from this era, but a lot of post 1980 music comprises disc 2, and it's just a different vibe all together.

I would say it's a good idea to get the original vinyl copies or CD's anyway, as almost all of the music is worth repeated listens.

All LP Cover and Label photos my own.

Norman Connors Love From The Sun: Buddah Records 1974

Norman Connors is best known out side of jazz for his R&B hit "You are my Starship" which went to #4 on the R&B chart in 1976.

Norman is also an exceptional drummer, and played with Sam Rivers on his albums Hues and Streams, as well as Pharoah Sanders' Village of the Pharaohs.

This album, Love From the Sun from 1974 features a pretty heavy duty jazz lineup.

 Herbie Hancock on electric piano, Eddie Henderson on trumpet, Carlos Garnett and Gary Bartz on saxophones, Buster Williams on bass, and Dee Dee Bridgewater on Vocals on a several tracks.

If you like the quiet storm style of funk that artist like Lonnie Liston Smith and Bennie Maupin laid to tape in the mid to late 70's you'll like Love from the Sun.

A perfect balance of modern jazz instrumental seriousness, and the more commercial element that jazz funk and rock brought to contemporary jazz. Certainly not an antiseptic sterile album by any means, think nice grooves and shifting rhythms.  Sometime they sit in the pocket to set a mood.

If you like the Hancock Mwandishi band, I think this Connors album would be worth picking up. If you are a mega Dee Dee Bridgewater fan you'll want this, quite frankly her voice is used as an instrument, it colors the tune to a great effect she appears on, damn near steals the show.

I like the sultry mood the music possesses, this mood I think is close to what you would identify as quiet storm, but there are plenty of modern jazz chops on this album too, it's not light-weight at all. 

Good luck trying to find Love From the Sun on CD, as of this writing it's only available on Vinyl and digital download

Truth! Some Serious Soul Jazz with Houston Person

I love this album, Truth! it sure starts off on the right foot with "Cissy Strut", a monster fast paced bogaloo that almost overheats, you can't help but get moving on this track.

Houston Person never gets mentioned with the all time greats, it's a shame because Person is a fine Soul Jazz player in the vein of Stanley Turrentine.

 Person has a sweet tone, but he does tend to harden it up some, so you never would confuse him with the sugar man.

I think one of the problems soul jazz artists like  Person had, was the hard ass jazz critics of the day, they just couldn't stand anything that didn't fit into that "other musicians playing for other musicians box".

Soul Jazz was about connecting with the people, and these records sold very well, and you could have very likely heard a track like "Cissy Strut" in a rib joint in the deep south, they probably wasn't hearing to much free jazz in those venues.

You get danceable boogaloo's and medium blues, and sentimental ballads, and all played top notch. Sonny Phillips on Hammand organ plays flawlessly if not anonymously, but who cares.

I like the guitar, organ, and sax sound, this is up beat happy music, that anybody should enjoy adding to their collection. "If I Ruled the World"turned out to be a pretty nice ballad, if just a tad over done, it only lasted  3 minutes and then it's back to cookin'.

"On the Avenue" is a nice upbeat blues, and the side 2 opener "Wadin" struts its self along perfectly in a medium tempo blues way.

This vinyl copy cost me only $4.99, beat that!  for a 40 year old classic soul jazz record? If you can't get into this album, you might not have a soul, and that's the Truth!

Billy Paul War of the Gods LP: Killer Soul Vinyl

Billy Paul is a beast of a soul singer, and one of the most underrated of all time in my mind.

Known primarily for his Grammy  winning "Me and Mrs. Jones" #1 hit from 1972, and this all time classic album War of the Gods.

Billy Paul can deliver a vocal in a higher pitched sweet style as well as a lower gruff bluesy voice.

War of the Gods is known most for the combination of elements it comprises, Funk, Jazz, Soul, and electronic psychedelic styles.

All tracks on the album were composed by the duo Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff.

The title track, a soul funk and electronic synthesizer jazz influenced epic complete with religious end times over tones is worth the price of the album alone.

The intro to the title track is so 70's, you just have to love it with the wash of over the top synths delivering a fanfare to allow all who hears know, "listen up"

Then a soothing acoustic piano brings it back down and female background singers enter to pave the way for Billy.

Oh yes, Billy I feel ya, smooth as silk vocal delivery, I really like the build up of the mood, then the funky bridge, hard to beat. Vibraphone and various percussion instruments give "Gods" a Latin jazz vibe I find irresistible.

"Peace Holy Peace" is also a powerful gospel influenced soul number, that rounds out the album superbly.

You can still find vinyl copies of this quite easily and at reasonable prices, I found this copy at a local used book seller for $3.99. Talk about a steal.

 The album cover you might recognize, has a lot in common with Santana's Abraxas and Miles Davis' Bitches Brew.

 Surrealist artist Mati Klarwein designed those covers as well as
the War of the Gods album cover.

70's funk and soul records are still priced reasonably right now, you could put together a nice collection in no time.