Dr. Lonnie Smith, Spiral (Palmetto). With never a thought of retooling tunes a la Carrothers, the maestro of the Hammond B3 organ nonetheless ventures well beyond conventional organ trio cliches. He continues to produce CDs whose swing and good feeling compel smiles and the rhythmic employment of pedal extremities. Smith is, however, considerably more than a party music organist, as he demonstrates with the moodiness and surprise chordal turns of his minor-key title tune, the rhythmic variety in “I Didn't Know What Time It Was" and the apiary atmospherics of his interpretation of Harold Mabern's “Beehive." His swing is irresistible in “I've Never Been in Love Before" his bluesiness profound in Slide Hampton's “Frame for the Blues." Guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg and drummer Jamire Williams are admirable in support. In his 68th year, the Dr. is in.
David Sills Light Touch (Dasil). Tenor saxophonist Sills takes his time, constructing thoughtful lines that tell stories. Even at brisk tempos, as in Charlie Parker's “Blues for Alice" and his own “It's All You" (his line on “It's You or No One"), he is unhurried and cogent. With pianist Chris Dawson and bassist Derek Oles, Sills applies his capacious tone and pliant imagination to pieces by a variety of composers including Horace Silver, Cole Porter, Hermeto Pascoal and Bill Evans. There are high points in moments of counterpoint between Sills and Dawson, an increasingly impressive pianist. Sills plays flute to great effect on Evans' minor blues “Interplay." Oles solos powerfully for one chorus on the piece. That's all he needed. This first CD on Sills' own label is a sleeper. It deserves attention.
Oscar Peterson & The Bassists (OJC). One of the most unusual trio recordings of Oscar Peterson's career was of a performance at the 1977 Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. It is still in the OJC catalog. He appeared not with bass and drums or bass and guitar, but with two formidable bassists. Ray Brown's association with Peterson went back nearly 30 years to the beginning of the pianist's American career. The astonishing young Dane Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen was a more recent colleague. The three played a set that included memorable versions of “There is no Greater Love" and “Reunion Blues," but the piece de resistance was a “Sweet Georgia Brown" containing an unaccompanied Peterson chorus that someone cut out of the Montreux video, labeled the “Greatest piano solo ever" and posted on YouTube. I can imagine Oscar countering that claim by invoking Art Tatum. But here is that breathtaking solo in the context of the complete performance, allowing you to judge for yourself.
