| "Dr. Lonnie Smith is a phenomenal B3 burner who can light up a room with visceral intensity or lay down some of the nastiest funk ever played on an organ," states Bill Milkowski in JazzTimes. Lonnie has been at the forefront of the jazz scene since he was named "Top Organist" by Downbeat Magazine in 1969. Recently, Lonnie was voted the "Organ Keyboardist of the Year" in 2003, 2004 and 2005 by the Jazz Journalist Association.
Dr Lonnie Smith's latest release, JUNGLE SOUL features Peter Bernstein, guitar; Allison Miller, drums and percussion; and Matt Balitsaris, rhythm and acoustic guitar, and includes tunes by Marvin Gaye, Frank Foster, Eddie Harris, Ann Ronell, and Thelonious Monk as well as Smith originals.
"Dr. Lonnie Smith typically infuses his music with enough energy to light a city block" (Tad Henderickson, Star Ledger) and with JUNGLE SOUL,, in addition to his recent appearances with Stanton Moore, the Dr. is crossing generations and genres, reaching out to this younger audience where the same tunes are played but, in Lonnie's words, "upbeat and with a lot more force." Lonnie says, "I want to reach more than the average jazz listener, I want to reach everyone and that's not an easy job to do. I want to bring more people to this kind of music, so they can hear it and enjoy it." |