Recording of the Week, Dr. Lonnie Smith - Breathe

Dr Lonnie Smith’s history with Blue Note Records goes back as far as the late 60s, first appearing on Lou Donaldson’s Alligator Boogaloo, and subsequently signing a four-album deal with them which saw Smith entertaining some soul jazz sounds. Despite leaving the label during the 1970s, Smith eventually signed on again in 2015, his Blue Note return Evolution including some all-star collaborators like Robert Glasper and Joe Lovano. His second, All In My Mind, consisted of live recordings at the Jazz Standard in New York back in 2017, during the celebration of Smith’s 75th birthday. The Doctor’s career has seen him finding success as a celebrated Hammond B3 organist and prolific bandleader as well as owner of the Pilgrimage label. Some of his earliest work was as a member of George Benson’s quartet in the 60s, though he’s led his own band on more than 30 albums over his career. In more recent years, that’s been with a steady trio of Smith, guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg and drummer Jonathan Blake; this now longstanding trio has developed quite the chemistry over the years, something that’s undoubtedly hard to maintain. Breathe also features a brass section in the form of John Ellis and Jason Marshall on tenor and baritone sax respectively, as well as Sean Jones on trumpet and Robin Eubanks on trombone; the extra quartet adds some welcome texture to the tunes, fleshing out the arrangements.

Much of Breathe consists of more live recordings from that same birthday set at the Jazz Standard. Besides this, the album is bookended by two studio tracks, both featuring Iggy Pop on vocals; the opener, ‘Why Can’t We Live Together’ is a 1970s R&B hit originally performed by Timmy Thomas - as well as Sade in 1984. Iggy performs some convincing 70s husk on the track, nicely suited to the laid-back vibe of the instrumental. The closing track ‘Sunshine Superman’ - a flower-power anthem originally written and performed by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan - sees the trio taking a funkier approach to this 60s psychedelic artefact, Smith’s organ and Kreisberg’s bluesy fills only further adding to the track’s retro feel.

The 2017 live set also has lots to enjoy; with plenty of finger-snappable grooves, the sounds of Smith gleefully shredding on his B3 after all these years, and augmented with the aforementioned rich brass section. Smith gives his soloists their moments to shine too; the slow, spacious ‘World Weeps’ puts the spotlight on Kreisberg during the first half, before the band explodes with vigour in the second, while vocalist Alicia Olatuja makes a sparkling guest appearance on the gospel-fueled ‘Pilgrimage’. The Thelonious Monk classic ‘Epistrophy’ makes for a funky and off-kilter palate cleanser, while ‘Track 9’ inserts some high-energy aggression into the set with some killer improv from the band’s brass players, and the steamy ‘Too Damn Hot’ has the Doctor tastefully comping and soloing throughout its otherwise relatively low-key runtime.

Breathe may not be the most challenging record you listen to this year, but it’s more than worthy of your time regardless. Lonnie’s live band is a group of longtime collaborators, something that’s abundantly clear in the fluidity of their improvisations, and the energy of the set - sometimes you just want to hear a group of individuals who know their sound inside and out. The Iggy Pop collaborations, too, make for a neat novel addition to an otherwise standard live recording; not such a strange collaboration when you consider the more experimental edge Iggy’s always had with collaborators outside of The Stooges’ punk sound. All in all, Breathe is an unashamedly enjoyable trip to the funhouse.