Tending the funk flame

This week, the doctor is in.

Dr. Lonnie Smith is not only a maestro on the Hammond B-3 organ; he is the premier contemporary soul jazz organist, following the legacy of soul and funky jazz icons Jimmy Smith, Brother Jack McDuff, Jimmy McGriff and Larry Young. While Smith's Prague debut comes a little late in his career, there is no time like the present to catch this funky jazz icon as he tickles the keys.

Dr. Lonnie Smith was born in 1942 in upstate New York, outside of Buffalo, and he first took up the Hammond B-3 organ - with its signature wobbly sound - in his early 20s. He had grown up listening to and singing gospel with his mother, and the black gospel influence is still palpable in his music.

In 1967, Smith recorded as a member of The Lou Donaldson Quintet on the funky-groove album Alligator Boogie with George Benson on guitar. This was followed by his 1968 soul jazz classic Think for the Blue Note label, which Smith recorded with trumpeter Lee Morgan and guitarist Melvin Sparks.

The title track of Think is utterly unstoppable - what is referred to these days as "a rare groove" of the highest order. Likewise, Smith's 1969 live recording at the Harlem Club, also released on Blue Note, includes "Move Your Hand," which is unmatchable in its muscular, full-steam groove.

The track "Dancin' in an Easy Groove" was also recorded live in 1969, but was left off Move Your Hand and remained unreleased until 1995, when it appeared on a compilation called The Lost Grooves. The tune's slow-grinding jazz was later remixed by Michael Franti and helped propel Smith back into the dance-club circuit, where he still remains.

In the mid-1970s, Smith started to wrap his head with a now ever-present turban to reflect his devotion to the religion of Sikhism. Meanwhile, the bright glow in his eyes continues to reflect his passion for life, music and perhaps most of all, his beloved organ, which he has described as both the "love of [his] life" and "the monster."

Around the year 2000, Smith took up the title of Dr., though he is neither a medical M.D. nor a Ph.D. Smith's donning of the title may have simply been a practical gesture to distinguish himself from Lonnie Liston Smith, a saxophonist of the same generation who was revived by hip-hop fans in the 1990s.

Jimmy Smith, the godfather of jazz funk on the Hammond B-3, passed away in 2005, at the age of 77. Another organ legend, Jimmy McGriff, passed away just two years ago, in 2008. With these greats sadly gone, Dr. Lonnie Smith has assumed the helm as an anointed keeper of the flame for the funky jazz organ sound.

Just as magical as Jimmy Smith, Dr. Lonnie Smith does an exquisite dance with his fingers on the two-level keyboard setup of the Hammond B-3, while at the same time tapping the pedals of his organ for a deep, double-bass effect. Listening to Smith is like hearing two instruments played in unison, and his grooves are even fuller and more infectious live.

Smith's newest recording, Rise Up, with Peter Bernstein on guitar and Donald Harrison on alto sax, was released last year. The album contains Smith's usual quotient of hard grooves plus a few surprising covers, including the Beatles' "Come Together," The Stylistics' "People Make the World Go Round," and Annie Lennox's "Sweet Dreams," all of which Smith has been performing on his current tour.

For his concert in Prague, Smith will be joined by Jonathan Kreisberg on guitar and Jamire Williams on drums. Smith's appearance with this trio is a homecoming of sorts, since he did play in the Czech Republic in 2009, in the town square of the small town of Prachatice in south Bohemia, as part of the Bohemia Jazz Festival. Finally, it is Prague's turn to host the B-3 organ's true guru.

Tony Ozuna can be reached at
features@praguepost.com