One of Lonnie Liston Smith's most spiritual sessions, and the record that most clearly shows his roots with Pharoah Sanders! The vibe here is much more jazz-based than on some of Lonnie's other records for Flying Dutchman – with Smith playing as much acoustic piano as he does electric, using the former in long-spiralling lines that have a beautifully meditative quality, and which give the album a real Strata East-like sound. Mtume and Sonny Morgan play percussion, Cecil McBee plays bass, and the real star of the album may well be George Barron – who turns in some beautiful Sonny Fortune-like work on tenor and soprano sax! Titles include "Let Us Go Into The House Of The Lord", "Rejuvenation", "Astral Traveling", "I Mani", "Aspirations", and "In Search Of Truth". LP, Vinyl record album

The mighty Lonnie Liston Smith live – sounding every bit as great as he did on his famous studio sessions from the 70s – and maybe even more freewheeling too! The feel of the record is really tremendous – extremely soulful, with Lonnie jamming away on keyboards as the band grooves up these cool spacey rhythms – stepping out in territory that's definitely the more cosmic side of jazz funk, with those righteous currents that always made Lonnie so great. The whole thing's wonderful – with loads of great electric work, and an overall spiritual vibe that's every bit as great as his albums for Flying Dutchman – and players include Donald Smith on flute and a bit of vocals, Dave Hubbard on tenor and soprano sax, and Lonnie himself on Fender Rhodes, clavinet, and Arp. The set includes a nice extended take on "Visions of A New World", plus the tracks "Watercolors", "Sorceress" – which isn't on any of his studio albums, "Prelude", and the classic "Expansions". LP, Vinyl record album

Lonnie Liston Smith grooves it hard here with his Cosmic Echoes group – mixing in a stronger dose of soul than ever before, yet still giving tracks a righteous feel overall! The approach here is a bit like that of Roy Ayers work from the 70s – still jazzy at its core and conception, but often featuring vocals to deliver a wider message for the tunes – plus some nicely snapping rhythms that are enough to get a fe cuts good play on the dancefloor! The record's still got plenty of great mellow tracks too, though – the kind of floating spacey numbers that Smith virtually invented during the 70s, and which stand here as a more strongly jazz-voiced contrast to some of the soul tunes in the set. Donald Smith and Dave Hubbard are still working here with Lonnie to give the work a really solid sound, and tracks include groovers like "Get Down Everybody", "Peace & Love", and "Beautiful Woman" – mixed with spacier fusion numbers like "Quiet Dawn", "Golden Dreams", and "Goddess Of Love". LP, Vinyl record album

A massively sweet groover from Lonnie Liston Smith and the Cosmic Echoes – smoother and warmer than some of his earlier albums, with a really soulful fusion vibe – and this perfect mix of jazz, funk, and soul that really takes Smith's music to a whole new level! Lonnie plays acoustic piano and "electric colorations" – working with a group that includes brother Donald on flute and vocals, Dave Hubbard on trumpet, and Leon Pendarvis on clavinet – and the whole thing's got a laidback, superdope feel that shows Smith at the top of his game – working earlier spiritual jazz currents into a tighter groove for the 70s, but never losing his soul at all! There's still a nice degree of spirituality to the set, and titles include "Renaissance", "Space Lady", "Between Here & There", "Mardis Gras", "Starlight & You", "Song Of Love", and "Mongotee". LP, Vinyl record album

A real gem from Lonnie Liston Smith's early years in the studio – and a record that's perhaps a bit more "cosmic" than it is "funk" – but that's why we like it so much! The session has Lonnie stretching out a bit more than usual – borrowing some of the righteousness from his years with Pharoah Sanders, and tripping out on tracks that revel in their own spacey brilliance. Lonnie plays both acoustic and electric piano on the record – stretching out on some Impulse-influenced grooves that feature some great soprano sax and flute from the lesser-known George Barron. Titles include the soulful "Beautiful Woman", the ethereal "Sais", and the heavier groover "Cosmic Funk" – plus great versions of Wayne Shorter's "Footprints" and John Coltrane's "Naima". LP, Vinyl record album

Quite possibly the most celebrated album ever from keyboardist Lonnie Liston Smith – a groove-heavy classic that's burned up many a dancefloor in its day, yet also a record that features some great mellow moments as well! The title track "Expansions" is virtually a blueprint for the migration of the cosmic jazz sound onto the dancefloor – a tune that's as funky as it is righteous – but other cuts on the album slow down the pace a bit too, and show off the mellower, more introspectively spiritual side that's always made Lonnie way more than just a funky jazz artist. Easily the best place to start in the all-great Lonnie Liston Smith catalog – and featuring tracks that include "Expansions", "Summer Days", "Desert Nights", "Shadows", "My Love", "Peace", and "Voodoo Woman". LP, Vinyl record album

Lonnie Liston Smith is really tightening up his groove on this one – bringing a bit more funk into the mix, and creating that amazingly sweet glide in his keyboard sound! The record's still steeped in the righteous influences of years past, but it brings the message out to a bigger audience – letting soul flow into the jazz-based tunes in the same way that Norman Connors was doing at the time – and creating the same sort of warm glow through a mix of earthy percussion and electric keys. Vocals on most numbers are by Donald Smith, who has a great approach that has the depth of Leon Thomas but the warm focus of Michael Henderson – and he's a perfect fit for Lonnie's well-crafted tunes on the set! Titles include the nicely breaking "Devika", plus "A Chance For Peace", "Colors of The Rainbow", "Visions Of A New World", and the killer mellow track "Summer Nights", a very warm electric piano cut, with a nice sort of "Summer Madness" feel! LP, Vinyl record album

Spiritual keyboard giant Lonnie Liston Smith joins the duo of Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad – and the result is maybe one of the deepest records in this wonderful series! As you can imagine, Lonnie is on keyboards, and delivers some wonderful solos throughout – very much in the spirit of his classic Flying Dutchman albums of the 70s – at a level that even seems to bring out some deeper vibes from Younge and Muhammad as well! Vocalist Loren Oden joins the group on four tracks, recalling the great vocal style used on Lonnie's classic records, in this beautiful mix of jazz and soul that really shapes the tunes – in a set that that includes "A New Spring", "Love Brings Happiness", "Cosmic Changes", "Dawn", "Gratitude", "What May Come", and "Love Can Be". (Deep Funk, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

A real gem from Lonnie Liston Smith's early years in the studio – and a record that's perhaps a bit more "cosmic" than it is "funk" – but that's why we like it so much! The session has Lonnie stretching out a bit more than usual – borrowing some of the righteousness from his years with Pharoah Sanders, and tripping out on tracks that revel in their own spacey brilliance. Lonnie plays both acoustic and electric piano on the record – stretching out on some Impulse-influenced grooves that feature some great soprano sax and flute from the lesser-known George Barron. Titles include the soulful "Beautiful Woman", the ethereal "Sais", and the heavier groover "Cosmic Funk" – plus great versions of Wayne Shorter's "Footprints" and John Coltrane's "Naima". LP, Vinyl record album

Quite possibly the best-remembered album from Pharoah Sanders' legendary run at Impulse Records – a set that crossed over big, and sold to countless folks who might not have bought a jazz album this hip otherwise! The record was Sanders' first in the wake of Coltrane's passing – and it's a beautiful extended suite of tracks that flows with a sense of grace, power, and majesty that's simply breathtaking – a new level of expression in spiritual jazz – and virtually the blueprint for an entire generation to come! The album features the classic track "The Creator Has a Master Plan" – spanning a tremendous amount of space and time – and featuring Leon Thomas' classic vocals on the lyrics! Thomas also returns on the cut "Colors", which is a bit more outside, and quite free overall – and other players on the date include Lonnie Liston Smith on piano, James Spaulding on flute, Julius Watkins on French horn, Ron Carter and Richard Davis on bass, and Freddie Waits and Billy Hart on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful album of spacey jazz funk! Eddie Russ was a 70s keyboard genius – right up there with Lonnie Liston Smith and Herbie Hancock in our book, although he never reached the fame of either of those players. This album's one of Eddie's best – and it's got a smoothly produced soul jazz sound that's almost a takeoff on the style of Smith's excellent records for Flying Dutchman – but a bit cooler overall, and with a great feel that links back to Russ' years in the Detroit scene. Tracks are uptempo and jazzy, with a strongly soulful vibe that features lots of electric keyboard work over the top of fast dancing rhythms. A few cuts have sweet female soul backup vocals, and additional instrumentation includes trumpet, sax, and guitar. Tracks include "Zaius", "Salem Avenue", "Poko Nose", and "See The Light". LP, Vinyl record album

A sweetly grooving bit of spiritual jazz from the 80s – done at a time when groups like this were letting a bit of R&B into their music, yet still coming across with a nicely righteous vibe that's far from mainstream modes of period! The group's led by Daoud Abubakar Balewam, pictured on the cover – who blows these lean, soulful solos over warmer work on keyboards and guitar – and the record's got a vibe that's maybe in the mode that Lonnie Liston Smith had been exploring on some of his early 80s material too. Daoud's work on soprano sax is quite nice – even on the album's smoother numbers – and there's some nice laidback tunes that have a sweet smooth fusiony groove with a slight current of jazz funk in the mix. Titles include "Samba Para Mi", "Naima", "The Camouflage", and "I Dream Too Much". LP, Vinyl record album

Caixa Cubo are a Brazilian trio with a very keyboard-heavy sound – a mode that's rooted in cosmic energy of 70s greats like Herbie Hancock or Lonnie Liston Smith, yet which is also taken into strong vocal territory here – thanks to the appearance of a great range of different singers! Many tunes have a soulful flow that's great, and the use of keyboards and Brazilian-influenced rhythms is like an updated take on the music of Azymuth – but again with a nicely different vibe that comes from the work of vocalists who include Xenia Franca, Ze Leonidas, Matthias Schriefl, and Eric Owusu. Titles include "Agora", "Caio & Eric", "Carrossel", "Sabado", "Dreams", "Kismeti", and "Asase". (Brazil, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

A rare non-Impulse Records album from the early days of Pharoah Sanders – but a set that ranks right up there with his classics for that legendary label! The album's one of the classics in Strata East's Dolphy Series – and it's a uniquely collaborative session from 1969, one that has Sanders working with a largeish group that includes Sonny Fortune on alto sax, Sonny Sharrock on guitar, Lonnie Liston Smith on piano, Leon Thomas on vocals, and Cecil McBee on bass – all coming together with a freely exploratory sort of energy, one that's a bit like some of Archie Shepp's most righteous sides from the same time. Sanders' tenor still dominates most numbers, but not as much as on some of the Impulse sides – and there's a nicely relaxed and personal feel to the whole album. The album features 3 long tracks – "Prince Of Peace", which has Leon Thomas doing his "Creator Has A Master Plan" thing, and the cuts "Balance" and "Izipho Zam", the latter of which jams for a full 28 minutes! LP, Vinyl record album

A jazz group at the core, but one with lots of nicely warm touches around the edges – a mix of percussion and vibes from group leader Cory Champion, who also brings in plenty of Fender Rhodes, guitar, and other keyboards as well! At times, there's a nicely cosmic vibe to the music – almost an evolution of the 70s sound of Lonnie Liston Smith – but there's also a lot more going on too, including cool use of bass clarinet, cello, harp, and other elements from other players to complicate the sound – plus occasional Buchla electronics from Champion, which creates a nicely spooky vibe – a bit like when Pat Gleeson might drop in a few sounds on a 70s jazz funk album. Titles include "Sunrise Motif", "Absolvo", "Revolutions", "Kihi", "Drumatix", "Plazma Plaza", and "Talking To Water". LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderful work from Leon Thomas – easily one of his greatest albums ever, and a set that was recorded at the same time he was working with Pharoah Sanders! Thomas really rose to fame on Sanders' classic "The Creator Has A Master Plan" – and this set really takes off from that moment – letting Leon spin out some spiritual vibes of his own, and step into a few fresh new styles as well! The album's plenty righteous right from the start – partly because the lineup includes James Spaulding on alto and flute, Lonnie Liston Smith on piano, Cecil McBee on bass, and the enigmatic "Little Rock" on tenor – who is actually Pharoah Sanders – but also because Leon serves up a shorter take on "The Creator Has a Master Plan" – done in a great style! The album also features a classic vocal take on Horace Silver's "Song for My Father", with lyrics that we totally love – plus the frenetic "Malcolm's Gone" – and the tracks "One", "Echoes", "Let The Rain Fall On Me", and "Damn Nam". (Vocalists, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

A very different entry in this always-great series – one that doesn't focus on a specific artist, or just the instrumentation of the two leaders – but instead has this great range of artists coming together in a very jazz-based style! Things here are even more organic and flowing than on some of the other volumes – as there's a very cool array of players that shift nicely from track to track, while still giving the record a unified vibe – work from Jeff Parker on guitar, Lonnie Liston Smith on piano, Tony Allen on drums, Henry Franklin on bass, Phil Ranelin on trombone, Wendell Harrison on bass clarinet, Jaman Laws on tenor, Phillip Wack on alto, and Scott Mayo on flute – all players who work with Younge and Muhammad to create soulful and funky elements that bring us back to the spirit of the Black Jazz label in the 70s Even if you've heard other titles in the series, this one still really advances the concept even further – and with more live, spontaneous energy in the studio – on titles that include "Running With The Tribe", "Phoenix", "Come As You Are", "Ebun", "El Cambio Es Necesario", "The Avenues", and "The Griot". (Deep Funk, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album