Lonnie Liston Smith is a visionary jazz keyboardist and composer renowned for merging elements of jazz with soul, funk, and cosmic consciousness-raising sounds. Born December 28, 1940, in Richmond, Virginia, Smith began his illustrious career in the late 1960s as a session player for luminaries like Pharoah Sanders, Gato Barbieri, and notably on Miles Davis’s classic "Bitches Brew."

His true emergence as a leader in innovative jazz came in the 1970s with his band Lonnie Liston Smith & the Cosmic Echoes. The ensemble became a vanguard of jazz fusion, integrating deep spiritual and meditative elements into their music. Their breakout album "Expansions" in 1975 remains a quintessential jazz-fusion record, known for its atmospheric soundscapes and the hit title track. Spanning over several decades, Smith's career has been marked by a continuous evolution, bringing in elements of R&B and quiet storm into his versatile palette. Albums like "Cosmic Funk" and "Visions of a New World" solidified his status as a pioneer in cross-genre experimentation. With a discography that demonstrates both technical mastery and boundless creativity, Lonnie Liston Smith remains an influential force in the world of jazz and beyond, his work continuing to inspire generations of musicians.

Genres

Jazz Funk

Related Artists

Herbie Hancock

Roy Ayers

George Duke

Donald Byrd

Ramsey Lewis

Kool & The Gang

Roberta Flack

Brian Culbertson

Ahmad Jamal

Joe Sample

Alice Coltrane

Freddie Hubbard

Latest Release

Lonnie Liston Smith JID017

Lonnie Liston Smith•

Adrian Younge•

Ali Shaheed Muhammad

Album - 9 Tracks - Released April 28, 2023