Jump to content

Cool article on the new Dr. Lonnie Smith Big Band


Jim Alfredson

Recommended Posts

The Hammond B-3 Lion Roars, Backed by His Pride

By BEN RATLIFF

Published: December 31, 2010

The organist Dr. Lonnie Smith played with his new big band for the first time on Tuesday night at Jazz Standard, and you know what they say about a big band on its first night: don't go. Hear it after it's settled a little, when its sound untangles, and the arrangements become refined. Give the soloists time to figure out what roles they will play, how to control themselves within the whole. Let a scene develop too: big bands sound best encircled by returning customers.

But after only two rehearsals, the 14-piece band, directed by the trombonist Corey King, sounded superfine. What I heard operated on two settings: nasty funk and wine-dark ballads. That was enough. The band runs from tuba to flute, with trumpets, trombones and saxophones in between; it sometimes merges three different low-end lines, from tuba, acoustic bass and Dr. Smith's organ foot-pedals. It's got an aggressive rhythm section, with the drummer Jamire Williams, the bassist Vicente Archer and the guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg, wielding cutting backbeats and shred guitar.

More: http://www.nytimes.c...c/01lonnie.html

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...