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If any bridged the gap between the soul and funk of Earth, Wind & Fire and the post-bop of John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner and Pharoah Sanders, it was Lonnie Liston Smith. Like those post-boppers--and like Earth, Wind & Fire's founder/leader Maurice White--Smith had a deeply spiritual, eastern-influenced outlook. He never lost his love of classic 1960s post-bop, and it continued to influence his writing and playing even when he was recording an album as commercial as Exotic Mysteries. This LP had a minor soul/funk hit in "Space Princess" (a Marcus Miller tune that features Donald Smith on vocals and isn't unlike something EWF would have done), but most of the album consists of fusion/crossover instrumentals that fuse elements of post-bop's more mellow side (think of Charles Lloyd's work or Coltrane's "Central Park West") with a big dose of soul, funk and pop. To be sure, pieces like "Mystical Dreamer (A Tribute to Miles Davis)" and the enchanting "Quiet Moments" aren't straight-ahead jazz; rather, they meet soul and pop fans half way and do so with some integrity. Exotic Mysteries isn't among Smith's essential albums, although its plusses outweigh its minuses.
© Alex Henderson /TiVo
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Lino Reyes, Drums - Jimmy Owens, Trumpet - Richard Sortomme, Violin - Gwen Guthrie, AssociatedPerformer - Dave Wittman, Engineer, Mixing Engineer - Tom Malone, Trombone - Seymour Barab, Cello - MARCUS MILLER, Composer, Bass - Brenda White, AssociatedPerformer - Steve Thornton, Percussion, Congas - Godfrey Diamond, Engineer, Mixing Engineer - Julien Barber, Viola - Donald Smith, Vocal - Lonnie Liston Smith, Producer, Piano, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Bert DeCoteaux, Producer, Mixing Engineer, Performance Arranger - Milton Hinton, Bass - Selwart Clarke, Violin - Raymond Kunicki, Violin - Sam Burtis, Trombone - Yolanda McCullough, AssociatedPerformer - Ray Simpson, AssociatedPerformer - Zachary Sanders, AssociatedPerformer - Seymour Berman, Viola - Rafael Charres, Engineer - Joel Cohn, Assistant Engineer - Irvin Spice, Violin - Harlod Kohon, Violin - Isadora Kohon, Violin - Louis Stone, Violin - Yoko Matsuo, Violin - Harry Wimmer, Cello - Robert Fortunato, Trumpet - Virgil Jones, Trumpet - Ronald D. Miller, Electric Guitar
(P) 1978 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
Jimmy Owens, Trumpet - Richard Sortomme, Violin - Gwen Guthrie, AssociatedPerformer - Dave Wittman, Engineer, Mixing Engineer - Tom Malone, Trombone - Seymour Barab, Cello - Brenda White, AssociatedPerformer - Godfrey Diamond, Engineer, Mixing Engineer - Julien Barber, Viola - Lonnie Liston Smith, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Piano, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Bert DeCoteaux, Producer, Arranger, Mixing Engineer - Milton Hinton, Bass - Selwart Clarke, Violin - Raymond Kunicki, Violin - Sam Burtis, Trombone - Yolanda McCullough, AssociatedPerformer - Ray Simpson, AssociatedPerformer - Zachary Sanders, AssociatedPerformer - Seymour Berman, Viola - Rafael Charres, Engineer - Joel Cohn, Assistant Engineer - Irvin Spice, Violin - Harlod Kohon, Violin - Isadora Kohon, Violin - Louis Stone, Violin - Yoko Matsuo, Violin - Harry Wimmer, Cello - Robert Fortunato, Trumpet - Virgil Jones, Trumpet
(P) 1978 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
Jimmy Owens, Trumpet - Richard Sortomme, Violin - Gwen Guthrie, AssociatedPerformer - Dave Wittman, Engineer, Mixing Engineer - Tom Malone, Trombone - Seymour Barab, Cello - MARCUS MILLER, Composer - Brenda White, AssociatedPerformer - Godfrey Diamond, Engineer, Mixing Engineer - Julien Barber, Viola - Lonnie Liston Smith, Producer, Piano, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Bert DeCoteaux, Producer, Arranger, Mixing Engineer - Milton Hinton, Bass - Selwart Clarke, Violin - Raymond Kunicki, Violin - Sam Burtis, Trombone - Yolanda McCullough, AssociatedPerformer - Ray Simpson, AssociatedPerformer - Zachary Sanders, AssociatedPerformer - Seymour Berman, Viola - Rafael Charres, Engineer - Joel Cohn, Assistant Engineer - Irvin Spice, Violin - Harlod Kohon, Violin - Isadora Kohon, Violin - Louis Stone, Violin - Yoko Matsuo, Violin - Harry Wimmer, Cello - Robert Fortunato, Trumpet - Virgil Jones, Trumpet
(P) 1978 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
Jimmy Owens, Trumpet - Richard Sortomme, Violin - Gwen Guthrie, AssociatedPerformer - Dave Wittman, Engineer, Mixing Engineer - Tom Malone, Trombone - Seymour Barab, Cello - Brenda White, AssociatedPerformer - Godfrey Diamond, Engineer, Mixing Engineer - Julien Barber, Viola - Lonnie Liston Smith, Composer, Producer, Piano, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Bert DeCoteaux, Producer, Arranger, Mixing Engineer - Milton Hinton, Bass - Selwart Clarke, Violin - Raymond Kunicki, Violin - Sam Burtis, Trombone - Yolanda McCullough, AssociatedPerformer - Ray Simpson, AssociatedPerformer - Zachary Sanders, AssociatedPerformer - Seymour Berman, Viola - Rafael Charres, Engineer - Joel Cohn, Assistant Engineer - Irvin Spice, Violin - Harlod Kohon, Violin - Isadora Kohon, Violin - Louis Stone, Violin - Yoko Matsuo, Violin - Harry Wimmer, Cello - Robert Fortunato, Trumpet - Virgil Jones, Trumpet
(P) 1978 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
Aurell Ray, Composer - Jimmy Owens, Trumpet - Richard Sortomme, Violin - Gwen Guthrie, AssociatedPerformer - Dave Wittman, Engineer, Mixing Engineer - Tom Malone, Trombone - Seymour Barab, Cello - Brenda White, AssociatedPerformer - Godfrey Diamond, Engineer, Mixing Engineer - Julien Barber, Viola - Lonnie Liston Smith, Producer, Piano, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Bert DeCoteaux, Producer, Arranger, Mixing Engineer - Milton Hinton, Bass - Selwart Clarke, Violin - Raymond Kunicki, Violin - Sam Burtis, Trombone - Yolanda McCullough, AssociatedPerformer - Ray Simpson, AssociatedPerformer - Zachary Sanders, AssociatedPerformer - Seymour Berman, Viola - Rafael Charres, Engineer - Joel Cohn, Assistant Engineer - Irvin Spice, Violin - Harlod Kohon, Violin - Isadora Kohon, Violin - Louis Stone, Violin - Yoko Matsuo, Violin - Harry Wimmer, Cello - Robert Fortunato, Trumpet - Virgil Jones, Trumpet
(P) 1978 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
Jimmy Owens, Trumpet - Richard Sortomme, Violin - Gwen Guthrie, AssociatedPerformer - Dave Wittman, Engineer, Mixing Engineer - Tom Malone, Trombone - Seymour Barab, Cello - Brenda White, AssociatedPerformer - Godfrey Diamond, Engineer, Mixing Engineer - Julien Barber, Viola - Lonnie Liston Smith, Composer, Producer, Piano, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Bert DeCoteaux, Producer, Arranger, Mixing Engineer - Milton Hinton, Bass - Selwart Clarke, Violin - Raymond Kunicki, Violin - Sam Burtis, Trombone - Yolanda McCullough, AssociatedPerformer - Ray Simpson, AssociatedPerformer - Zachary Sanders, AssociatedPerformer - Seymour Berman, Viola - Rafael Charres, Engineer - Joel Cohn, Assistant Engineer - Irvin Spice, Violin - Harlod Kohon, Violin - Isadora Kohon, Violin - Louis Stone, Violin - Yoko Matsuo, Violin - Harry Wimmer, Cello - Robert Fortunato, Trumpet - Virgil Jones, Trumpet
(P) 1978 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
Jimmy Owens, Trumpet - Richard Sortomme, Violin - Gwen Guthrie, AssociatedPerformer - Dave Wittman, Engineer, Mixing Engineer - Tom Malone, Trombone - Seymour Barab, Cello - Brenda White, AssociatedPerformer - Steve Thornton, Percussion - Godfrey Diamond, Engineer, Mixing Engineer - Julien Barber, Viola - Lonnie Liston Smith, Composer, Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Bert DeCoteaux, Producer, Arranger, Mixing Engineer - Milton Hinton, Bass - Selwart Clarke, Violin - Raymond Kunicki, Violin - Sam Burtis, Trombone - Yolanda McCullough, AssociatedPerformer - Ray Simpson, AssociatedPerformer - Zachary Sanders, AssociatedPerformer - Seymour Berman, Viola - Rafael Charres, Engineer - Joel Cohn, Assistant Engineer - Irvin Spice, Violin - Harlod Kohon, Violin - Isadora Kohon, Violin - Louis Stone, Violin - Yoko Matsuo, Violin - Harry Wimmer, Cello - Robert Fortunato, Trumpet - Virgil Jones, Trumpet
(P) 1978 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
Jimmy Owens, Trumpet - Richard Sortomme, Violin - Gwen Guthrie, AssociatedPerformer - Dave Wittman, Engineer, Mixing Engineer - Tom Malone, Trombone - Seymour Barab, Cello - MARCUS MILLER, Composer - Brenda White, AssociatedPerformer - Godfrey Diamond, Engineer, Mixing Engineer - Julien Barber, Viola - Lonnie Liston Smith, Producer, Piano, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Bert DeCoteaux, Producer, Arranger, Mixing Engineer - Milton Hinton, Bass - Selwart Clarke, Violin - Raymond Kunicki, Violin - Sam Burtis, Trombone - Yolanda McCullough, AssociatedPerformer - Ray Simpson, AssociatedPerformer - Zachary Sanders, AssociatedPerformer - Seymour Berman, Viola - Rafael Charres, Engineer - Joel Cohn, Assistant Engineer - Irvin Spice, Violin - Harlod Kohon, Violin - Isadora Kohon, Violin - Louis Stone, Violin - Yoko Matsuo, Violin - Harry Wimmer, Cello - Robert Fortunato, Trumpet - Virgil Jones, Trumpet
(P) 1978 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
Album review
If any bridged the gap between the soul and funk of Earth, Wind & Fire and the post-bop of John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner and Pharoah Sanders, it was Lonnie Liston Smith. Like those post-boppers--and like Earth, Wind & Fire's founder/leader Maurice White--Smith had a deeply spiritual, eastern-influenced outlook. He never lost his love of classic 1960s post-bop, and it continued to influence his writing and playing even when he was recording an album as commercial as Exotic Mysteries. This LP had a minor soul/funk hit in "Space Princess" (a Marcus Miller tune that features Donald Smith on vocals and isn't unlike something EWF would have done), but most of the album consists of fusion/crossover instrumentals that fuse elements of post-bop's more mellow side (think of Charles Lloyd's work or Coltrane's "Central Park West") with a big dose of soul, funk and pop. To be sure, pieces like "Mystical Dreamer (A Tribute to Miles Davis)" and the enchanting "Quiet Moments" aren't straight-ahead jazz; rather, they meet soul and pop fans half way and do so with some integrity. Exotic Mysteries isn't among Smith's essential albums, although its plusses outweigh its minuses.
© Alex Henderson /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 8 track(s)
- Total length: 00:38:40
- Main artists: Lonnie Liston Smith
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Columbia - Legacy
- Genre: Jazz
(P) 1979 Sony Music Entertainment
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