April 14, 2014
Dr. Lonnie Smith at Jazz Standard
Stop by the Jazz Standard in NoMad this week for four nights of organist Dr. Lonnie Smith. The Hammond B3 icon will lead two ensembles during his residency. Thursday and Friday night’s shows will feature the Dr. Lonnie Smith Trio with special guest Lionel Loueke, and Saturday and Sunday’s shows will consist of Dr. Smith’s ‘In The Beginning’ Octet.
Dr. Lonnie Smith is known as one of the most inventive and unique performers of the past several decades. Best known for his own material, Dr. Smith has also collaborated and performed with a number of legends from George Benson to Lee Morgan, Dizzy Gillespie, Ron Carter, Etta James and Gladys Knight. John Fordham of The Guardian says of Dr. Smith’s playing, “remarkably cliché-free, even after five decades in the game.”
The trio Thursday and Friday night will consist of Dr. Smith on Hammond B3, Jonathan Kreisberg on guitar, Johnathan Blake on drums, and special guest Lionel Loueke on guitar. The octet on Saturday and Sunday night will perform material from the group’s 2-CD 2013 release In the Beginning, Volumes 1 & 2 (Pilgrimage Recordings). In addition to Dr. Smith, the octet features Andy Gravish on trumpet, Ian Hendrickson-Smith on alto sax, John Ellis on tenor sax, Jason Marshall on bari sax, Ed Cherry on guitar, Jonathan Blake on drums, and Khalil Kwame Bell on percussion.
The ensembles will play sets at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, with an additional set at 11:30 p.m. on Saturday night. All sets Thursday and Sunday cost $25 per person, and Friday and Saturday shows cost $30 per person. Tickets can be purchased here.