Brace yourselves for The Art of Organizing, the very first appearance on Criss Cross by organ master Dr. Lonnie Smith. Organ jazz is of course an important part of the Criss Cross catalog. Our releases by the likes of Melvin Rhyne and Sam Yahel bear that out, also demonstrating how this vital idiom spans the generations. And you're very likely to find that a Criss Cross organ date involves modern master guitarist Peter Bernstein, an important leader for our label in his own right. Indeed, it is none other than Bernstein who joins Smith on The Art of Organizing.
On IN THE BEGINNING, the second release on Pilgrimage Recording, his imprint label which he founded in 2012, Dr. Lonnie Smith revisits, recontextualizes, and reimagines a dozen songs culled from his first decade as a recording artist. The end product is a document as distinctive and accomplished as any within Smith’s iconic canon.