from the LP Expansions, Flying Dutchman Records, 1975Although he dwelled within a musical genre that wasn’t exactly known for putting messages in the music (frankly, jazz-funk has always been hounded by critics as being a totally vacuous exercise in gluttonous vamping), Lonnie Liston Smith and his band, the Cosmic Echoes (nice!), provided a very tangible rebuttal to that stereotype, sharing a soulful & peace-loving vibration with the world in their mellow grooves. Smith’s style on the keyboards and synthesizer is rather subdued and graceful, using them abundantly but without smothering the other players in the least---and what a bountiful feast of small touches that weave throughout this track: flute, various percussion, the almighty triangle, even some freakin’ sleigh-bells! The guy rocking the flute solo, Donald Smith, also handles the vocals here, delivering the message in a poised & dulcet tone.
