Dr Lonnie Smith Reviewed by Riveting Riffs Magazine

Reviewed by Chris McHale

Dr Lonnie Smith Photo 1 The beautiful and arcane Hammond B-3 is a sonic chamber of electro-magnetic fun, with dual keyboards, an array of pedals and sliders to mix and match millions of combinations of harmonics and create an endless variety of tones. Not an instrument for the faint-hearted. Recently, at the Jazz Standard in New York City, the Dr. Lonnie Smith Nonet put on a B-3 clinic, which featured wild and imaginative flights of compositional fancy. In the master’s hands, the B-3 sings.

Imagine a tightly arrayed band, three saxophones, three trombones, drums and guitar, with a commanding presence in the middle, a musical alchemist with a long fabulous beard, dressed in flowing black silk and wearing a black turban. Dr. Lonnie Smith presents an imposing figure and his playing demands attention, but more than anything, expressions cross his face that could only be interpreted as pure joy for what is being created around him.

The set began with “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf,” sparked by smooth, cruising, blues-tinged riffs from Dr. Lonnie’s B-3. In a world of samples and midi-clones, right away the Hammond establishes itself as something special, a unique and vital tone that vibrates across the room. The air literally shivers. Dr. Lonnie’s dynamic touch is sure, from whisper to scream and back to whisper. Guitarist, Jonathan Kreisberg, whips the rhythm along with an agile right hand, matching Dr. Lonnie’s intent with every stroke. The entire set is a rhythmic dialogue between these two musicians and a third, the driving force of drummer, Jamire Wiliams. With the tonal range of the B-3, bass players need not apply.

“Two Damn Hot,” Dr. Lonnie announces as the title of the next tune. The B-3 begins as soft as a feather falling silently from the sky, but soon a wash of chords, harsh and sweet at the same time, urge on solos by the two members of the nonet. The dusty tones of alto player, Logan Richardson, bounce against the compelling rhythm and a bass trombone solo by Max Seigel explores the bottom end of the nonet sound. With the Hammond anchoring the band, the nonet sound grows instantly into the palette of a full-blown orchestra and then shrinks as quickly back to the intimacy of a soft-stroked trio. Dr. Lonnie effectively deploys the available colors.

Dr. Lonnie is not a formally trained musician. As a boy he got his hands on a B-3 and began playing. That’s the way it works. An authentic musician will find his instrument. His true instrument will instantly sing in his hands. The B-3 became the perfect expression for the musical memes in Dr. Lonnie’s imagination.

For the third song of the set, “Bee Hive,” he began by simply telling a story. “Once upon a time,” he said, “there was a boy.” The narrative tells a tale of a young child consumed by curiosity, wandering into a forest until he discovers himself “covered in bees!” The band erupts into a wild cacophony of bee riffs, which can only be describes as each instrument interpreting that imperative in its own way, a free-form exploration straight from the 1960’s, but given an exact conceptual anchor by Dr. Lonnie Smith’s story. Great fun. For the tune, Dr. Lonnie switched at the outset to a synthesizer and orchestral samples, ably imitating the soundscapes and tensions of Hollywood movies scores, but he was slowly pulled back to his Hammond, at one point playing both, before finally being consumed by the thunderous stabs of the B-3, a rising sterocity, ferocious odd-flavored chord voicings, spicy from the East and funky from the South.

There is a playful abandon to Dr. Lonnie Smith’s compositions. In his playing, he moves through the music by instinct, surprised sometimes by the results. It seems he composes the same way, with an open sense to all possibilities. There is a lovely and refined humor to his music, a Jerry Goldsmith type riff yields to a 70’s soul pulse yields to a flight of angry bees in a forest. It’s all music to Dr. Lonnie Smith.

Before the next tune begins, Dr. Lonnie Smith announces, “This is one of my prize songs, “And The World Weeps.” Sometimes the whole world feels this way.” The tune begins over a crisply played military snare. Soon enough a bass clarinet, played by Kyle Wilson, adds a haunting depth to the tune. When Dr. Lonnie takes command it is with the insistent whispers of a thousand cicadas. How Dr. Lonnie continues to coax such a variety of tones out of his B-s is one of the sets enduring mysteries. The tightly wound nonet expressed itself in a heart-wrenching wail of chordal angst. There is something profoundly moving in the sound of this band, the ever present B-3 adding a soulful resonance to every musical expression.

The concluding tune is “What Time Is It.” The rhythms this time are tinged with distinct Brazilian spices. Dr. Lonnie Smith sits straight, a smile on his face, as the band begins to drive itself towards an explosive and riveting solo by drummer, Jamire Williams. The kick propels the band as the snare explodes in dynamic beats.

Dr. Lonnie Smith Nonet is a band of young, vital, musicality gathered around a master. The unique character of the Hammond B-3 sets the band free. They roam far and wide over the jazz landscape. The tight acoustics of the Jazz Standard provide the perfect setting for the sold-out crowd to absorb the gift of Dr. Lonnie Smith’s music.