Lonnie Smith - Turning Point
Artist: Lonnie Smith
Title: Turning Point
Label: Blue Note
Catalog Number: 9463114232
Reviewed by Eddie Becton
Organist Lonnie Smith has solidified his decades-long career as one of jazz’s most innovative musicians. Blue Note’s re-issue of Turning Point, then, will cause a stir among fans because Smith and company flat-out burns. Frankly, the disc should be entitled Burnin’ Up the Firehouse, or at least something that forewarns listeners the music goes well beyond scorching.
The title track, Turning Point, showcases the band’s collective acumen, but the solos cannot be ignored. The cast features Lee Morgan (trumpet), Bennie Maupin (tenor saxophone), Idris Muhammad (drums), Melvin Sparks (guitar), and Julian Priester (trombone). Priester, Maupin, and Morgan, and Sparks solo respectively before Smith, who hovers in the background, provides sizzling romps until the tune’s conclusion.
Smith is a master technician when employing blues-based harmonies. On Slow High
, the band delves into a gut-wrenching blues straight from the delta region. By contrast, People Sure Act Funny is a funk-laced track listeners will find themselves snapping their fingers to. Sparks’ crisp solo deserves recognition, and contributes to the head-bobbing melody while Smith’s accoutrements provide the intensity.
Eleanor Rigby, the classic tune by Lennon and McCartney is executed with precision. In fact, the 21-second introduction is worth the disc’s price. Maupin gets first take at solo and, as is customary for him, exhibits impassioned, well-executed phrasings. After Maupin, Morgan steps in and displays a series of pyrotechnic notes bound to cause your neighbors to call the local fire department! By the time Smith chimes in, the aural fire is already raging. He is obviously a musical pyromaniac, throwing more gas on the blaze during a scorching 2-plus minute solo. Suffice it to say, Eleanor Rigby is the musical equivalent of a 4-alarm fire!
In this day and age of parental warning labels on CDs, there should be an additional category for discs such as Turning Point - Caution: Do not listen to this disc in the presence of combustible materials!
Track Listing: Seesaw/ Slow High/ People Sure Act Funny/ Eleanor Rigby/ Turning Point.
Personnel: Lonnie Smith – organ; Lee Morgan – trumpet; Julian Priester – trombone; Bennie Maupin – tenor saxophone Melvin Sparks – guitar; Idris Muhammad – drums.