Article: The Interview Series | Lonnie Liston Smith

[Josh Mound]

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[The Computer Audiophile]

Wow, that was really neat @JoshM. Lonnie seems like such a nice person, with incredible talent. What stood out most to me was his emphasis on the whole, rather than the individual. These two Qs and As speak to me. This way of thinking seems to be gone in so many other facits of life and in a lot of popular music today. A solo artist NOT making it about themself, because the whole is what counts, is so great. The end results (whole) are far better than the sum of the parts.

 

 

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JM: What I’ve always found kind of interesting about your early-to-mid ‘70s records with Bob is that on a lot of those records your piano is set further back the mix. You’re more like the bandleader. The other instruments would often have the center stage. I was wondering if that was conscious decision of yours to say, “I’m bandleader, and even though I’m a pianist, I’m not foregrounding my piano playing or my keyboard playing or my organ playing. I’m sort-of sitting back and serving the song,” if that makes sense?

 

LLS: Oh, that’s interesting.... I guess, you’re right. That’s a good point. Because, you know, when you have very talented soloists, you want them to shine. So it didn’t bother me because the keyboards, I was accompanying them.... So I guess I was accompanying what they were doing and letting them shine, because that’s important.

 

 

 

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JM: Yeah, yeah. I was just really curious about that, because oftentimes as soon as someone does a solo record, it’s their chance to be up front. But even in your solo stuff, you kind of have this restraint. It’s pretty consistent across a lot of those albums in the in the early run with The Cosmic Echoes, and I didn’t know if that was like a conscious decision you made since you’re writing almost all the songs on all those albums, but they aren’t really structured as like a showcase for your keyboard or piano playing.

 

LLS: Oh, right. No, I guess it didn’t bother me because the whole thing was the sound of the group, and that’s what’s important. You know, as long as you can still hear my keyboards, it didn’t bother me. I think like later on when I did “Quiet Moments” [on 1978’s Exotic Mysteries] that was more [a showcase for] the grand piano. But that was later on. In the beginning, I guess I just wanted a group sound, as long as people could hear the keyboard. You could hear everything well, right?

 

[Mike Rubin]

Thanks very much for this.  

 

The first "many" times I saw Lonnie in person was when he was with Pharoah.  In the beginning, he often sounded like he was channeling McCoy, but he definitely became his own man over time. 

 

Perhaps unfortunately, I was not ready to go along with his shift into the commercial realms.  He wasn't the only jazz musician to make a hard right turn either to "reach out to the people" or to sell out, take your pick, and God knows he hardly wasn't the only one or even the worst, but my interest in his art seriously waned after "Astral Traveling" appeared on Thiel's Flying Dutchman label. 

 

He was and maybe still is a prodigious talent, but a reminder that the line between commerce and art isn't imaginary. 

[audiobomber]

Interesting! I have some albums Lonnie played on, but I hadn't paid specific attention. I will definitely call up some Lonnie Liston Smith & the Cosmic Echoes music. 

[PYP]

Excellent interview!  I vividly remember listening to Astral Traveling.  It just made sense to me, for lack of a better description.   

 

I had many of his albums (vinyl) from 1973 to 1976, but didn't purchase them in CD format when my turntable gave way to digital because I started listening mostly to classical music at that time (circled back to jazz many years later).  

 

Luckily, Qobuz has those I was most familiar with and more.   Will be fun to explore these again.   Thank you.    

[Mr Morris]

Fabulous interview. I reallt got a sense of the connection between you both.  What an honour