Soaring June 2019

Lonnie Smith - Funk Reaction (1977) {Groove Merchant–Solid Records Japan CDSOL-45955 rel 2019}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 279 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 94 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 33 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1977, 2019 Groove Merchant / Ultra-Vibe / Solid Records Japan | CDSOL-45955
Jazz / Jazz Funk / Soul Jazz / Keyboards

A sweet 70s groover from the great Lonnie Smith – a soulful little session that has the keyboardist really stretching out in some great ways! At the time, Smith fares a lot better than some of his late 60s jazz organ contemporaries – as he's got a great lean style, perfect for the decade's increasing use of electric keyboards and larger backings! This set's a great example of that style – as Smith moves way from his 60s soul jazz roots, into the soaring blend of jazz, funk, and soul that you'd also hear on Johnny Hammond albums of the time – almost more soul than jazz, given the presence of vocals on some cuts – but still always with more than enough room for the leader to stretch out and solo. Backings are nice and tight – and handled by Brad Baker (of B Baker Chocolate Company fame).

Throughout his storied career, iconic pianist/keyboardist Chick Corea has explored a wealth of music from across borders both geographical and stylistic. Time and again over the decades he’s returned to what he calls his “Spanish Heart” – the Spanish, Latin and flamenco traditions that have indelibly shaped his unmistakable sound. Now, with his new album Antidote, recorded with his brand-new Spanish Heart Band, Corea once again delves deeply into the Latin side of his musical heritage with a stunning collection of musicians from Spain, Cuba, Venezuela and the U.S.

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds already gave us one EP this year, June’s Black Star Dancing. Now, with Gallagher’s tour alongside Smashing Pumpkins launching this week, his band has announced another new EP called This Is The Place. Like Black Star Dancing, This Is The Place contains three new original tracks plus two remixes. According to a press release, the new songs are “completely disparate sonically” but “each feature soaring female backing vocals and all have a nod to different iterations of psych.”

Signs, the fourth studio album by the Tedeschi Trucks Band, poignantly addresses some of the major changes this 12-piece group has been through over the last couple of years. That said, it's hardly steeped in sadness, but acknowledges reckoning and acceptance while leaning on hope. In November 2016, longtime friend Leon Russell died. In January, Derek's uncle Butch Trucks committed suicide. In May, mentor Col. Bruce Hampton (to whom Signs is dedicated) suffered a fatal coronary on-stage during his 70th birthday celebration (which Trucks and Tedeschi witnessed). The same month, Gregg Allman died after a years-long battle with liver cancer. And in June, keyboardist Kofi Burbridge suffered a heart attack that required emergency surgery.