Dr. Lonnie Smith Trio – Iridium Jazz Club – Jan. 5
Midway through a Jan. 5 performance by the Dr. Lonnie Smith Trio at Iridium Jazz Club, Smith stood up at his organ, calmly stepped to the side and turned his back to the audience as drummer Herlin Riley took off and furiously pounded a funky Brazilian rhythm on a drum kit that was shaking so violently it could have toppled over.
Throughout the trio’s five-song set, Riley was poised to steal the show from organist Smith and guitarist Russell Malone. His aggressive polyrhythms and sledgehammer attack pushed and pulled the trio in and out of virtuosic solo passages. He complimented Malone’s and Smith’s every move, anticipating by milliseconds the growing ferocity of their playing. As Malone’s bluesy, dissonant solos grew louder and faster, Riley provided explosions of cymbal crashes and snare shots. As the churn of Smith’s organ grew more intense, he maniacally swung his arms as he produced fills on his tom-toms with John Henry-like power.
But Riley’s playing never overpowered Malone and Smith. In fact, his energy and confidence behind the drum kit only made them appear more comfortable as the set continued. Malone’s solos grew more ambitious. During the set closer “Come Together,” he interrupted his dissonant melodies with a sudden burst of Hendrix’s “Foxey Lady” that nearly brought him off of the stool he was glued to throughout the set.
And Smith, at 65, attacked the organ with the fervor of a man half his age. He swayed back and forth, beginning his solos in a dirge-like fashion before slowly building his intensity, playing faster and looser as the songs drew on, periodically grunting and growling into the microphone as he drew squelches and squeals from his Hammond.
It was all complimented perfectly by Riley’s rhythmic anticipation, his seeming ability to read Smith’s and Russell’s minds as they explored both inside and outside the song forms. Dr. Lonnie Smith’s name may have been topping the bill, but his show’s electricity and tightness wouldn’t have been possible without Riley.
Giles said,
February 26, 2008 at 11:53 pm
Well, it looks like your blog has pulled a Hillary Clinton. Where’s the spirit man, where are the posts?? Where’s the Hope!?
Haha, take it easy (don’t you hate when people say that?).
By the way, speaking of journalism, I’ve met a lot of Missouri students here at Sciences Po for an journalism exchange thingy. They’re interesting, but know jack when it comes to politics, which is funny considering Missouri’s reputation.