"I can take it anywhere it goes, right? I love to play inside, outside...but the organ swings best when it swings, doesn't it? That's what that organ is good for. You could try to play hip all you want, but when you swing that thing, there's no other feeling like it." - Doctor Lonnie Smith

Dr. Lonnie Smith © Andrea Canter

Dr. Lonnie Smith will celebrate his 67th birthday with a rock-solid trio including Peter Bernstien on guitar and Bill Stewart on drums. Dr. Lonnie Smith is one of the last of the old-school Hammond B3 maestros, and  he has been delivering the funky jazz since breaking in with George Benson half a century ago. Also a master showman, Dr. Lonnie Smith has been thrilling audiences since the 1960's. Smith's 1968 debut with Bluenote, Think is solid soulful jazz and his long association with Lou Donaldson resulted in some of the most iconic soul-jazz statements of the era (including Alligator Bogaloo).  You can catch his birthday gig at Smoke Jazz and Supper Club in New York on Friday, July 3rd through Sunday, July 5th with sets at 8, 10 and 11:20 pm.

Dr. Lonnie Smith was born in Lackawanna, New York, (just outside of Buffalo), into a family with a vocal group and radio program. Smith says that his mother was a major influence on him musically, as she introduced him to gospel, classical, and jazz music. He was part of several vocal ensembles in the 1950s, including the Teen Kings. Art Kubera, the owner of a local music store, gave Smith his first organ, a Hammond B3.

His affinity for R&B melded with his own personal style, and he quickly became a local legend. He moved to New York City, where he met George Benson, the guitarist for Jack McDuff's band. Benson and Smith connected on a personal level, and the two formed the George Benson Quartet featuring Lonnie Smith, in 1966.

After two albums under Benson's leadership, (It's Uptown and Cookbook), Smith recorded his first solo album (Finger Lickin' Good) in 1967, with George Benson on guitar, Ronnie Cuber on baritone sax, Melvin Sparks on guitar and Marion Booker on drums. This combination remained stable for the next five years.

After recording several albums with Benson, Smith became a solo recording artist and developed a career that has produced over 30 albums under his own name. Several legendary jazz artists have joined Smith on his albums, including Lee Morgan, David "Fathead" Newman, King Curtis, Blue Mitchell, and Joe Lovano among others.

In 1967, Smith met Lou Donaldson, who put him in contact with Blue Note Records. Donaldson asked the quartet to record an album for Blue Note, Alligator Boogaloo. Blue Note was so impressed by the album that they signed Smith for the next four albums, all of which are now considered classics of soul jazz. This highly influential period produced Think (with Melvin Sparks, Marion Booker, Lee Morgan and David Newman) and Turning Point (with Lee Morgan, Bennie Maupin, Melvin Sparks and Idris Muhammad). The latter is largely regarded as his most seminal studio album.

Smith's next album Move Your Hand was recorded at the Club Harlem in Atlantic City, New Jersey in August 1969. This surprise hit allowed his reputation to grow beyond the Northeast. He would record another studio album Drives and one more live album Live at Club Mozambique before leaving Blue Note. Live at Club Mozambique was recorded in Detroit on 21 May 1970, and is considered to be his finest live recording.

Smith toured the northeastern United States heavily during the 1970s. He concentrated largely on smaller neighborhood venues during this period. His sidemen included Ronnie Cuber, Dave Hubbard, Bill Easley and George Adams on sax, Donald Hahn on trumpet, George Benson and Larry McGee on guitars, and Joe Dukes, Sylvester Goshay, Phillip Terrell, Marion Booker, Jimmy Lovelace, Charles Crosby, Art Gore, Norman Connors and Bobby Durham on drums.

Smith has performed at several prominent jazz festivals with artists including Grover Washington, Jr., Ron Carter, Dizzy Gillespie, Lou Donaldson and Ron Holloway. He has also played with musicians outside of jazz, such as Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, Etta James, Joan Cartwright, and Esther Phillips.

Smoke is located at 2751 Broadway, Manhattan, www.smokejazz.com. Three sets each night at 8, 10 and 11:30 pm. Cover $32 wwith $20 minnimum, (212) 864-6662.

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